The Rev. Al Sharpton
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that activist and talk show host the Rev. Al Sharpton was once a paid informant for the FBI.
In April, The Smoking Gun reported that Sharpton, whose classified alias was “CI-7,” was heavily involved with the FBI in the 1980s. The report claims Sharpton’s association with the Genovese organized crime family included recording conversations that led to the arrests of several mob members such as Dominick “Baldy Dom” Canterino and soldier Federico “Fritzy” Giovanelli.
Sharpton has denied these claims. In an interview with The New York Daily News, he said that he contacted the police after receiving several threats from Joseph “Joe Bana” Buonanno and other members of the Gambino crime family. The activist said the threats were related to his attempts to create more jobs for African-Americans in the music business by watering down the mob’s influence in the industry. “If you’re a victim of a threat, you’re not an informant — you’re a victim trying to protect yourself,” Sharpton said.
