From 60 Minutes – CBS News: John Veasey says he feels bad about helping to send his former boss, Philadelphia mobster John Stanfa, to prison and imagines what Stanfa would say to him today.
“I’m a Rat”: Mob Hit Man Veasey on 60 Minutes
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From Philadelphia Magazine Articles: THE ITALIAN AMERICAN car salesman looked so out of place in Middle America that strangers would walk up to him and ask, “Say, are you in the Mafia?”
He stood five-foot-seven, with bulging muscles, slicked-back hair, and chiseled features that reminded people of a young Robert De Niro. To the locals, he may have been an ethnic -curiosity, but they loved doing business with him. He was nicknamed “The Closer” because he sold three times as many cars as the average salesman.
His secret was an ability to establish an instant rapport with people from all walks of life. Customers were so captivated by the Closer that they invited him to their weddings, football superboxes and NASCAR luxury suites. Neighbors and co-workers were also drawn to the surprisingly tenderhearted guy who’d pull off the highway after midnight to help a stranded motorist change a flat. At Christmas, the Closer would dress up as Santa and hand out presents that he bought to kids.
Then, last May, somebody asked about the Mafia again. The Closer was lured to a late-night meeting in a deserted auto-body shop. He says an interrogator flashed a gold FBI badge at him and said: How ya doing, John-John?…
