Al Sharpton An FBI Informant: 10 Things We Learned Of His Dime Dropping

Reportedly, Reverend Al Sharpton is a former paid FBI Mafia informant. Needless to say the report making this claim had plenty of jaw-dropping passages.

The Smoking Gun ran a story on Monday, April 7 billed as “the untold story of how [an] activist once aided probes of New York City wise guys.” The explosive exclusive outlines how Civil Rights advocate Sharpton once helped agents target the bosses of the Genovese crime family.

Referred to as “CI-7” or “confidential informant #7,” the draft FBI affidavits paint a sobering picture of Sharpton as an interactive member, working for the government, who began aiding the FBI in the mid-1980s. According to the site, the report claims that Sharpton even secretly taped conversations which helped to target, profile and eventually detain some of the most powerful Mafia figures in New York City.

All this information comes courtesy of the Freedom of Information Act, which allowed for confidential information to be released by the FBI to the public. Given Hip-Hop’s love for Reverend Al and their disdain for snitches — how do you think the community will respond to these reports?

With such heavy accusations in the air, and as of writing this, no word from Sharpton himself, we’re breaking down the 10 things that we’ve learned while reading this controversial news report.

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Sharpton’s Recordings Were Used In Court

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The secret recording done by Al Sharpton were used to help the court’s secure authorization to bug two Genovese family social clubs, including Gigante’s Greenwich Village headquarters, three autos used by crime family leaders, and more than a dozen phone lines.

Sharpton’s Information Was ‘Accurate’ According To FBI

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In the secret documents filed in the name of CI-7, investigators who worked with the ex-informant vouched for his credibility, saying, Sharpton is “a reliable, productive, and accurate source of information about underworld figures.”

Sharpton’s Gift Of Gab Allowed Him Great Access

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Investigators representing both the FBI and the New York Police Department recall how the 59-year-old Civil Rights activist “deftly extracted” information from wise guys. One particular recount comes in the form of when Sharpton, armed with his wired briefcase, recorded a wide range of mob business from “shylocking and extortions to death threats”. As the Genovese mafioso expounded on these topics, Sharpton and his customized Hartman briefcase recorded every word.

Sharpton’s Cooperation Was Rewritten To Mask His Identity

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Titled “The Extortion From and Control of Morris Levy,” the initial November 1984 affidavit contained the fruits of Sharpton’s cooperation. The FBI wiretaps were rewritten to further mask the Civil Rights advocate’s identity, but noted that the “confidential informant had been providing information to the bureau for more than a year.”

Sharpton Maintains He Never Was An Informant

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According to The Smoking Gun, Sharpton was brief in advance of his undercover antics, so he was well aware of the FBI’s investigative interest in the Genovese Crime Family. And while the paperwork is documented, Sharpton denies having ever worked as an FBI informant. In his most recent book, The Rejected Stone, Sharpton claimed to have once been “set up by the government,” who leaked false information that “could have gotten me killed.” But the paperwork shows that he was fully invested in helping the government detain, arrest and get rid of the Genovese family.

Sharpton Was A Mafia Associate With Significant Ties

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Federal investigators routinely referred to Sharpton as an “informant in development,” before being “flipped” into a full-time CI. He was seen as an intriguing source due to his wealth of contact in politics, boxing (with Don King), and the music industry.

Sharpton Partnered With Jimmy Henchman For A Daytime TV Show

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Before taking his pulpit to MSNBC in 2011, Al Sharpton traveled to Los Angeles to attempt to sell a daytime program that would have starred him in a Judge Judy-type role. His partner in the endeavor was James Rosemond, better known in the music industry as Jimmy Henchman. Rosemond paid for the airfare, hotel, and other expenses related to the proposal, which did not secure a Hollywood green light. Rosemond is currently serving life in prison due to his own drug trafficking woes.

Sharpton’s Identity Was Withheld By The FBI

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With concerns raised about the discovery period when the Genovese issue went to trial, TSG was given a rewritten draft which carefully shrouded Sharpton’s involvement with the government. The affidavit’s final version, which, according to the site, was “submitted to two federal judges,” no longer included the disclosure that “CI-7” had “consensually recorded his conversations” with a gangster. The wise guy’s name was also deleted from the document, as was any reference to the Gambino or Genovese family.

Sharpton Was Involved In Wiretapping Don King

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Don King, obviously no saint himself, was part of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney Office in Brooklyn. In late-1987, Sharpton cooperated with the Brooklyn investigators who “ran him for a couple of months,” during which the Reverend “did some recordings” via his new home telephone. The Department of Justice operation into Don King was abruptly shuttered in the wake of an New York Newsday story on Reverend Al Sharpton.

Sharpton Angled Himself Into The Jackson’s “Victory Tour”

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While being turned into an operational informant for the federal government, Al Sharpton was secretly recording Joseph Buonanno and simultaneously angling for a role in The Jackson‘s lucrative “Victory” tour. Sharpton argued that Michael Jackson and his brothers were not “giving back to the community that supported them since their days on the black chitlin’ circuit,” and was eventually given a $500,000 budget to cover the distribution of free tickets to poor communities during the 55-concert tour. Eventually, Sharpton and his “Pride Patrol” enlistees were accused of extorting money, to which the former vehemently denied.

What do you think of this revelatory news? Is Al Sharpton an informant or not? Speak on it!