Narcotics trafficking is a global problem. Agents who are sent to fight it can find themselves deep undercover on foreign soil. In this episode, hosts Dutch McAlpin and Giovanni Rocco sit down with retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent Frank Panessa. Frank was at the center of the case known as the “Pizza Connection," during which he infiltrated the Mafia. As former undercover agents themselves, Giovanni and Dutch are able to ask Frank all the right questions. Frank talks about his start in the DEA, going undercover as a made man, how he got his nickname “The Chameleon” and so much more.

About Frank Panessa:

Frank Panessa worked as an undercover DEA agent for 28 years with multiple deep cover identities. After working investigations around the world, including in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Central America, Panessa retired in 1995 as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Division, where he supervised more than 300 law enforcement personnel. During his DEA tenure, he proudly served as the Italian U.S. Embassy’s chief liaison to Italian police agencies on narcotics and organized crime.

Season One of Inside the Life is presented by Levy Online and Levy Production Group.

To watch episodes of this podcast, visit YouTube

For behind-the-scenes photos, merchandise and exclusive content, visit insidethelife.org

For more on the Museum visit themobmuseum.org

Who can you trust? In this captivating episode, hosts Giovanni Rocco and Dutch McAlpin discuss how their undercover work intersected at the most opportune and dire times, including an unforgettable Las Vegas dinner with a DeCavalcante crime family caporegime.

Season One of Inside the Life is presented by Levy Online and Levy Production Group.

To watch episodes of this podcast, visit YouTube

For behind-the-scenes photos, merchandise and exclusive content, visit insidethelife.org

For more on the Museum visit themobmuseum.org

Welcome to Inside the Life, a podcast produced by The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. In this episode of Inside the Life, we introduce host and former elite undercover agent Dutch McAlpin. Dutch’s harrowing accounts offer a rare glimpse inside law enforcement, from his early years as a beat cop to the top-clearance, confidential world of undercover work.

About Dutch McAlpin:

Often working in extremely dangerous, life-threatening scenarios, Dutch McAlpin left his over-20-year career in law enforcement with an endless number of stories. From a beat cop in the Midwest to an undercover task force agent for numerous federal agencies, Dutch infiltrated outlaw motorcycle gangs, domestic terrorist organizations, weapons trafficking networks, Latin American cartels, international human trafficking rings and even the Mafia, sometimes operating with three different undercover identities at the same time.

Season One of Inside the Life is presented by Levy Online and Levy Production Group.

To watch episodes of this podcast, visit YouTube

For behind-the-scenes photos, merchandise and exclusive content, visit insidethelife.org

For more on the Museum visit themobmuseum.org