| | |  | | Home » Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down | | | | | | | Description: | | The Jack Nicholson film The Departed didn’t tell half of their story. A poor kid from the slums, Robert Fitzpatrick grew up to become a stellar FBI agent and challenge the country’s deadliest gangsters. Relentless in his desire to catch, prosecute, and convict Whitey Bulger, Fitzpatrick fought the nation’s most determined cop-gangster battle since Melvin Purvis hunted, confronted, and killed John Dillinger. In his crusade to bring Bulger to justice, Fitzpatrick faced not only Whitey but also corrupt FBI agents, along with political cronies and enablers from Boston to Washington who, in one way or another, blocked his efforts at every step. Even when Fitzpatrick discovered the very organization to which he had sworn allegiance was his biggest obstacle, the agent continued to pursue Whitey and his gang . . . knowing that they were prepared to murder anyone who got in their way.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Robert Fitzpatrick | | Paperback:
| 336 pages | | Publisher:
| Forge Books | | Publication Date:
| January 03, 2012 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0765335506 | | Product Length:
| 0.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 0.0 inches | | Product Height:
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| 0.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.1 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.7 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 15 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 An Accomplished, Complex and Absolutely Compelling Crime BookJan 04, 2012
By Nancy Eaton
"bestsellersworld.com"
Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down
"You want a bullet in the head?"
Writers of fiction are always advised to make sure that the first line of their book hooks the reader into the story and hopefully keeps them there until the very end. The above first line in Jon Land's mesmerizing new book, Betrayal, is as sharp a hook as one is likely to find in today's modern crime stories. However, what makes the quote all the more salient is that Betrayal isn't fiction, but the true tale of two men, Robert Fitzpatrick, one of the most celebrated FBI agents of his time, and James Joseph `Whitey' Bulger, the feared head of South Boston's Irish Winter Hill gang, of whom Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed was loosely based on.
In 1980, Fitzpatrick was assigned to Boston when his boss Roy McKinnon needed an Irishman to `kick ass and take names.' The reason being that no one in the Boston Bureau seemed to be in control or have a clue when it came to taking down Bulger's empire of criminality. At least that was Fitzpatrick's initial belief. However, it wasn't too long before he discovered something more sinister in the cupboards of officialdom other than writing pads and pens: skeletons, and plenty of them.
Most of the skeletons belonged to Bulger, in one way or another. So why the hell wasn't the king of crime languishing in the local lock-up, awaiting trial, instead of sitting on his throne of ill-gotten gains? The more rocks Fitzpatrick looked under, the more startling the findings he made. Almost everyone, it seemed, was in the pockets of Bulger. Worse, they appeared to be turning blind eyes to all the alleged murders ordered or carried out by Bulger. Something would have to be done to stop him. Now, not tomorrow. But as Fitzpatrick was soon to discover, that was easier said than done...
Betrayal is Fitzpatrick's story, his early life, his firm belief in the black and white of good and evil. His first encounter with the law was when he was just four years old, at home in New York. After one of the many arguments between his parents, a local cop, O'Rourke, decided enough was enough, and had the young Fitzpatrick placed in the care of social services, where he eventually ended up in Mount Loretto, the intimidating child care home on Staten Island. In Mount Loretto he would listen religiously on the radio to The Shadow, The Lone Ranger and especially This Is Your FBI, the latter - coupled with Officer O'Rourke's tough love - would have enduring influence on his adult life, when he eventually joined his childhood heroes at the Bureau.
It's to Mr. Land's credit and professionalism that he does not drown out Fitzpatrick's unique voice throughout the pages. This adds chilling authenticity to the compelling story, something lacking in most `partnered' memoirs being published at the moment. Betrayal is a miles-apart transition for the acclaimed writer of the Caitlin Strong books, as he makes the brave leap from fiction to fact - not the easiest of leaps to make. Thankfully, Mr. Land's leap of faith has him landing expertly and solidly on his feet with page-turning ease.
This is a brutal tale of loyalty, murder, corruption but ultimately betrayal. It's about one man's resolute determination to track down the FBI's most wanted man since Osama bin Laden. Renowned Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, in his timeless book, Answer to Job, depicted evil as the "dark side of God." After reading Betrayal, you will have little doubt as to the dark side of men. An accomplished, complex, and absolutely compelling crime book, Betrayal is not to be missed.
Note: This review was done by Sam Millar.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
BetrayalJan 13, 2012
By Russell Ilg
BETRAYAL: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent who Faught to Bring Him Down
Reviewed by Russ Ilg
Jon Land and Robert Fitzpatrick have combined to bring to paper the greatest "nonfiction novel" I have had the honor to read. The story of how the FBI protected and sheltered one of the most vicious and deranged killers in history is beyond what any fiction writer could scarcely imagine as a storyline and what Truman Capote had in mind when he coined the phrase in the wake of In Cold Blood. The story begins when Robert Fitzpatrick was transferred to the Boston Office of the FBI to do what he had done his whole career: close. And he was transferred to Boston to fix a broken office and reign in the problems there, just as he had done in Miami office with the ABSCAM investigation on top of his roles in the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and civil rights murders and bombings in the 60s in Mississippi.
This book is such a page burner that I had to stop and see if the sun was still up. I simply could not put it down. It grabs you from page one and leads you on the ride of your life, and on that ride you will be brought to your knees in fear as to how corrupt the Justice Department and FBI were in this case. Officials in both simply sat back and allowed an Irish Boston gangster named Whitey Bulger to do whatever he wanted as long as they thought he was giving them info on New England's Italian mob. And Bulger played them to the very end.
This will go down as one of the blackest eyes the FBI has ever received, Through his tireless work, Robert Fitzpatrick tried to make everyone up to the assistant director and head of the Organized Crime unit in Washington understand that they were being conned by one of the greatest con men in history. The FBI was so sure that Whitey Bulger was giving them what they needed they did everything they could to stop Agent Fitzpatrick from doing his job to the point that he finally had to leave the only life he had known and loved and respected and honored his whole career.
The recent capture of Bulger in June did not at all close one of the darkest chapters in the storied history of the FBI. Soon he will go on trial for at least nineteen murders, most of which were committed while working for the FBI and at least a dozen after Fitzpatrick recommended his tenure as an informant be ended. The Bureau did serve up one of Whitey's handlers, John Connolly, who was convicted and sent to prison for accepting bribes and, more recently, accessory to the murder of one Fitzpatrick's own informants who could have given Bulger up once and for all.
This book is a huge read, providing an inside look as to how bad things can get and how many people's lives are thrown away toward what is believed to be the greater good. Some reports link Bulger to over forty murders in total--think about the national manhunts that have been authorized for far, far less than that.The great part is that after reading the book you'll be primed to follow the next chapter in this true story in what promises to be one of the highest profile murder trials in Massachusetts history when Whitey's day of reckoning finally comes in April.
I had the great honor of speaking to Robert Fitzpatrick for about thirty minutes on the phone and learned even more of the inside story and also the fact that for quite awhile after leaving the FBI he was in constant fear for his life. The fact that this novel-like tale is real, that it actually happened, makes it in my mind one the best thrillers ever written along with one of the most disturbing books, as it confronts us with the overriding question of how could this happen? Fitzpatrick supplies no easy answers; sometimes just posing the question is enough.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
well written cautionary realismJan 03, 2012
By Harriet Klausner
In 1980 Washington, FBI Assistant Director Roy McKinnon assigns one of his best field agents Robert Fitzpatrick to go to Boston to "kick ass". Fitzpatrick had success in the 1970s in Miami and previously to that worked on the KKK bombings in Mississippi (Burning) and the King assassination. Being Irish-American was the other trait that made him perfect for the job of turning Boston "straight and narrow." His agenda is to clean out the corrupt field office that went Boston Irish native for three decades and put away Irish mob chief James "Whitey" Bulger and his top enforcer Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi. The two murderers killed anyone in their way, gun trafficked with the IRA and had high political and FBI protection. Three years with trying to bring down Bulger and clean the agency led to Fitzpatrick, getting no cooperation, lost his job for allegedly embarrassing the agency. Still he returned to the Mount Loretto Orphanage in Astoria, Queens where he first dreamed of being an FBI agent and visited the gravesite of Father Kenny knowing his mentor would believe he acted honorably.
The timing of this autobiography is sadly perfect with the scandal at Penn State as a reminder that the institution and its entrenched always protect themselves by maintaining the status quo even when that includes covering up horrific crimes. Betrayal provides a well written cautionary realism that reminds the readers that the truly courageous like Agent Fitzpatrick never give up your values in order to keep an organization's "reputation" safe.
Harriet Klausner
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Great story.Jan 10, 2012
By AJ
Great crime story written from a first person perspective about murder and corruption. Holds reader's interest throughout the entire book.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
BetrayalFeb 02, 2012
By Merle
I have followed Jon Land from book to book and have never been disappointed. Although I prefer fiction, this book hooked me. Having lived in the area during the time made what Robert went though much more meaningful. I applaud his dedication to his job and doing what was right even in the face of adversity. I will always follow Jon through whatever path he takes me as he is one of my most favorite authors. Thanks to you both for a wonderful journey.
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