Bob Delaney has been an NBA referee for the past
twenty years. In the 1970’s, he was a highly-decorated New Jersey State Trooper who went undercover for nearly three
years to infiltrate the Mob, and was the principal undercover operative in the landmark investigation, Project Alpha. Bob Delaney is the author of Covert.
According to the book description of Covert, “Delaney’s account takes readers behind the scenes
to show how law-abiding businesspeople were intimidated and extorted by cutthroat teams of mobsters eager to cut competitors
out of the action. Delaney also describes the mobsters’ obsession with the Godfather movies (quoting lines from “The
Movie” and boasting of how often they’d seen it), as he gives readers a view of the real-life crime underworld
that no movie or TV show can offer. After nearly three heart-pounding years undercover, Delaney had gathered enough evidence
to convict more than thirty organized crime figures. Project Alpha was a success, but it had taken its toll on the man at
the center of it. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and traces of Stockholm Syndrome after getting too close
to those he investigated, Delaney went into a tailspin. Delaney writes poignantly about his battle to re-adapt to life outside
the shadows. After reexamining his life, Delaney-- a college basketball player before becoming a State Trooper--decided to
get back onto the court. He began officiating high school and intramural games as a way to rebuild his life, eventually working
his way up to the NBA, where he has been a referee for more than two decades.”
According to one reader of Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob,
“This autobiography of current NBA referee Bob Delaney commences on April 18, 1999 at America West Arena in Phoenix
Arizona. As Bob was going through his normal last minute pre-game rituals, he heard a voice from the crowd yelling "Hey
Bob!"... "Hey Bob!" Delaney was now in his second decade of refereeing NBA games, and as a veteran he had developed
a second skin, or an emotional armor if you will, against hecklers. NBA ref's, just like umpires in baseball learned to
simply ignore the boo's and the catcall's that inevitably came with the territory. He'd heard them all: "Hey
ref, get it right for once!"... "Hey ref, eat me!"... "Hey ref, your fly's open!"... "Hey
ref, you suck!"... "Hey ref, don't quit your day job!"... And one of his personal favorites that rated
high on the creativity chart: "Hey Delaney, I've seen better referees at the Foot Locker!" Bob had trained himself
not to look at hecklers because that would only encourage them and possibly add fuel to the fire. Then the same voice from
the stands yelled: "ALAMO TRUCKING!" All of a sudden every muscle in Bob's body tightened. This fan had information
no average fan could possibly have. Delaney's pulse started to race and a prior lifetime of "shadowy" thunder
rumbled in his head. Then the same voice yelled: "ALAMO!" Bob looked to the stands into the mega-expensive courtside
seats, and the fan is yelling "ALAMO! ALAMO!" Bob looked straight at him and at first had no idea who the fan was,
but "ALAMO TRUCKING" was "a loaded reference to a time almost a quarter century before, and a place nearly
three thousand miles away on the New Jersey waterfront."
"Bob... it's me... Pat from ALAMO." Then the name, the face, the
place and time, all came together in Delaney's hidden memory, unlocking the combination to his secret inner vault. It
was Pat Kelly. Bob hadn't seen Pat for over twenty years. Not since the time Pat and Delaney had been in Federal Court
testifying against the mob. Pat had entered the Witness Protection Program. Bob Delaney, had been a New Jersey State Trooper,
who had given up his name, his identity, and his entire life, to go undercover as Bobby Covert, to infiltrate organized crime
for almost three years as part of "PROJECT ALPHA", and had just come out of "DEEP COVER". There are two
ways to go undercover in law enforcement: The first is where you go undercover but you still live at home with your family.
The second is termed "DEEP COVER", and that's where you not only go undercover, but you give up all ties to
your family, friends, and life as you knew it. Bob Delaney went into deep cover in 1975.
Bob arranged for someone to pass a
note to Pat at halftime of the game, telling him to meet him after the game. From their reunion after the game the story flashes
back to Bob's life story which begins in New Jersey where Bob was the son of a high ranking New Jersey State Trooper Officer.
Bob came from a strong Irish family and they lived in a close knit Italian neighborhood. Bob was an All-State basketball player
in high school and he also played two years at Jersey City State College. He was a good player at his level but he knew he
couldn't go any higher, so when there was an opening in the State Trooper's he applied and was accepted. In a very
short period of time Bob impressed the right people and was asked if he wanted to be part of "PROJECT ALPHA" even
though it meant "DEEP COVER" and his entire life as he knew it would change. Bob, overflowing with patriotism said
yes! The first thing Bob and the other members of the group did was set up a real-live trucking company, and named it Alamo
Trucking. The Fed's had a slick wheeler-dealer who they had the goods on by the name of Pat Kelly, and gave him an option
of working with "PROJECT ALPHA" or going to prison. Based on the beginning of this review the potential reader already
knows the choice Pat made. The rest of the story is a harrowing, amazing, definition of stress and inner fortitude, that along
with undying patriotism, is what makes up Delaney's entire DNA. Without giving away any more of this classic episode in
crime fighting, that can easily be discussed under the same topic as "DONNIE BRASCO" (Donnie went into "DEEP
COVER" for six years, the longest in FBI history.), it should be noted that the busload of high ranking organized crime
arrests that resulted from "ALPHA PROJECT" made America a safer place to live. The reader will also find of utmost
interest the "withdrawal" symptoms and post traumatic problems with Bob's entire personality and lifestyle once
the assignment was completed. I highly recommend this book and must also complement the author's writing style that utilizes
everyday jargon and terminology. The storytelling comes across like you're just sitting around having a conversation with
an everyday "Jersey-Guy" which Bob Delaney certainly is.”
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