Mafia Cops | The Rat | 4

0:00American scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research.

0:20It's the night of March 7, 1997, at the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. Celebrities and musicians stream into the venue as a crowd of photographers and reporters vies for a position. Among them is New York Police Department detective William Oldham. He raises a camera and takes a few shots, but it's all just for show. The person he's really interested in hasn't arrived yet. Oldham is in California on the trail of one of the country's biggest rap stars, Christopher Wallace, better known to his fans as the notorious B.I.G. And soon enough, another limo pulls up and a heavyset young man steps out.

1:00He's dressed in a black velvet suit and sunglasses, with a large gold chain dangling from his neck. Oldham raises his camera because this is his guy. The notorious B.I.G., or Christopher Wallace, is being investigated in connection with a gun charge back on the East Coast, and Oldham is hoping to gather intelligence on Wallace's associates, who will be at the awards show with him. So while pretending to photograph the stars, Oldham zooms in on the men lurking behind Wallace. But after posing only briefly for the cameras, Wallace makes his way inside. As he disappears into the venue, Oldham's cell phone rings in his pocket.

1:39It's an investigator from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Oldham has worked with her before, but they haven't spoken in over a year. So if she's calling, Oldham figures it must be something important.

1:54Oldham steps away from the crowd to answer the call. Hey, yeah, sorry, can you hear me? Hi, Bill. Where are you? You won't believe me. I'm in L.A. The Soul Train Music Awards. Well, who knew your work was so glamorous? Yeah, I even rented a suit, but I'm guessing you didn't call to talk show business. No. When do you get back to New York? I've got something I want to run by you. I fly home tomorrow. What's going on? Well, remember that pod case we worked on last year, Burton Kaplan? That old man out in Brooklyn? Sure. Well, there's this cooperator I'm debriefing, and she was married to one of Kaplan's guys.

2:29The other day she started talking about a couple of NYPD cops. One of them was this big guy who wrote a book about the mafia. Ah, you mean Louis Eppolito. Do you know him? Yeah, I know him. I bet the other one's Stephen Caracapa. Yeah, that's right. We worked major case together. What'd she say about them? Well, that they were working for Kaplan. Working for him? How? She didn't know the details, but it sounded like they were close. Like, really close. So I figured it might be worth a look. I mean, these were senior guys, right? Yeah, Caracapa especially. Almost a legend on the force. So were you interested?

3:05Oh, hell yeah. I thought you would be. So let's talk about it when you're done working on your tan in California. Oh, it's not as glamorous as you think. I'll be back in New York soon and we'll talk then. Detective Oldham hangs up and walks back to the scrum of photographers. Another group of celebrities climbs out of a limo and poses for the camera. but Oldham wouldn't trade places with any of them right now. If the special agent's informant is telling the truth, then Burton Kaplan could be the key to unraveling one of the biggest corruption cases in the history of the NYPD, and Oldham is going to get him to talk.

3:46I'm Leon Nafok. What happens when OnlyFans becomes more than just a side hustle? OnlyFantasy is an in-depth look at the world's newest profession and how the rules of human intimacy are being rewritten online. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all episodes of OnlyFantasy ad-free only on Audible. I'm Raza Jafri, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we go back in time to meet Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution. As America fights for freedom from Britain, Arnold emerges as one of the rebel's greatest generals. But when his loyalty is pushed to the limit, he turns spy and devises a plot to shatter the rebellion and make George Washington a prisoner.

4:27Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Betrayed the American Revolution early and ad-free on Audible.

4:43From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal.

5:07For over a decade, detectives Stephen Caracampa and Louis Eppolito used their positions in the New York Police Department to make themselves rich. They had begun by selling police secrets to the mafia, but within just a few years, they were working as paid assassins. By the late 1990s, though, Caracapa and Eppolito were both retired and living in Las Vegas, but that did not mean they were safe. Back in New York, the Mafia's old code of silence was breaking down. More and more mobsters were willing to turn on their former comrades to save their own skins. That meant investigators soon had new leads on Caracapa and Eppolito.

5:45But building a case still wouldn't be easy. Much of the evidence against them was years old, and the one man who knew enough to put Caracapa and Eppolito behind bars was refusing to cooperate. So to finally get to these mafia cops, prosecutors would have to find a way to make Burton Kaplan talk. This is Episode 4, The Rat.

6:11It's August 1997 in Brooklyn, New York. Detective William Oldham steps out of the elevator into the lobby of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District. Although Oldham is technically with the NYPD, he works mostly out of this building, where he can collaborate more closely with prosecutors. His friend at the DEA has promised to stop by with some new information. After her original tip-off, Oldham has been investigating Stephen Caracapa and Louis Eppolito for a few months now. He's convinced the two men are guilty, but to his frustration, the case is stalled. What evidence he's been able to find is all circumstantial.

6:48He's hoping another conversation with the DEA agent will turn up something more concrete. Oldham spots the agent across the lobby, and she's holding a large cardboard box. She tells him it's a bunch of documents from Burton Kaplan's house. They were seized when he was arrested on the marijuana charges last year. She doesn't know exactly what's in there, but hopes it might be helpful. Oldham takes the box off her hands and thanks her. He's planning to go see Kaplan in prison to see what he has to say, but the agent just shakes her head. That's a waste of time. Even though Kaplan is serving a 27-year sentence on drug charges, he still lives by the Mafia's code of honor.

7:26He'd rather die in prison than rat out one of his own. So if Oldham wants to make his case, he's just going to have to find another angle. The agent leaves, and Oldham takes the box up to a conference room. He locks the door behind him because he can't be too careful. He's a cop investigating other cops, and that won't make him any friends. Oldham spreads the contents of the box across the conference table. Most of it is what he expected. Business records, bank accounts, invoices, but at the bottom of the box is a small black leather address book. Oldham flips it open. Its pages are filled with names and numbers in Kaplan's neat, cursive hand.

8:05Some entries are crossed out, others are written over. Numbers run too long or too short, and Oldham realizes that many must be written in code. He knows Kaplan once worked as a cryptographer in the Navy, and he rifles through the pages looking for a pattern. He can't figure it out right now, but he's certain that somewhere in this little book are the numbers he's after most, Stephen Caracapas and Luis F. Bolitos. Because Oldham has had doubts about both men for years. Oldham first met Caracapa when he joined the Major K Squad in 1989. That squad was one of the most prestigious in the NYPD, handling kidnappings, art thefts, major burglaries, and crimes against police officers.

8:49Caracapa was a well-respected figure in the squad. Regarded as one of the best detectives in the city, he literally wrote the police handbook on organized crime homicides. But despite Caracapa's reputation, Oldham quickly came to dislike him. There was something cold and calculating about him that Oldham couldn't quite place at the time. It makes more sense now, though, but the proof he's looking for remains tantalizingly out of reach. He compiles a list of a hundred potential witnesses, including members of Burton Kaplan's family and his known associates, anyone who might be able to connect Kaplan to the cops, but no one is willing to talk.

9:24By early 1999, Oldham is still no closer to deciphering Burton Kaplan's phone book, and he has no other way of linking Caracapa and Eppolito to the mob. But then he makes another discovery in some old files. One morning, walking through the organized crime section in the Eastern District offices, he notices a stack of boxes. A label on one of them catches his eye. It reads, U.S. v. Kaplan. Oldham asks around and finds out the boxes belong to a prosecutor who's transferring to the Bronx. The files are destined to gather dust and storage somewhere. So Oldham asks the departing prosecutor if he can take them instead, and she agrees.

10:03Oldham takes the boxes back to his office, and to his surprise, among the files from Kaplan's case, he finds a 500-page transcript of Anthony Gaspipe Casso's meetings with prosecutors back in 1993. Oldham spends two days going through the document, line by line. And there, buried in this testimony, Oldham finds what he's looking for. Casso, talking about a source in the NYPD, two officers who fed him confidential information. He calls them his crystal balls, and names them as Stephen Caracapa and Luis Eppolito. Oldham now has a crime boss admitting he worked with the two cops. He knows Casso's testimony is uncorroborated, and no juror is going to believe the word of a hardened criminal over two officers of the law.

10:48But still he hopes that it's enough to at least interest his supervisor in the case and get some more resources. So he knocks on his boss's door and is welcomed in. They have a good relationship, and his supervisor is always happy to talk shop. Oldham pulls up a chair, and they trade notes on their caseloads. But when Oldham mentions Caracapa and Eppolito, his supervisor's expression hardens. He tells Oldham to change the subject. Oldham tries to push back, but his boss cuts him off. He tells Oldham that he never wants to hear about Caracapa and Eppolito again. Nothing good can come of it. Oldham can understand his chief's resistance.

11:26Because if Oldham is right, and two highly decorated NYPD detectives were working for the mafia, than senior officers let it happen on their watch. Perhaps it would be better for everyone just to leave things be. Caracapa and Eppolito are retired, after all, and whatever they did in the past, they can't do anything now. But Oldham does not abandon the case. Quietly, he keeps investigating. And for the next two years, he returns to it again and again between other jobs. But he still hasn't made the case when he retires from the NYPD in 2001. But in retirement, he doesn't go far. Instead of moving into the private sector like many ex-comps, Oldham takes a job as an investigator for the U.S.

12:08Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. He's worked out of its building in Brooklyn for years, but now he's officially on the team. And the Eastern District has a reputation for resourcefulness and daring. That's perfect for Oldham. Moving from the Major K-Squad, Oldham's focus shifts from identifying suspects to helping federal prosecutors turn investigations into courtroom cases. But his new role in the violent criminal enterprise and terrorism section also gives him the freedom and resources he needs to keep pursuing Caracapa and Eppolito. And as he's no longer working for the NYPD, he can ask all the questions he likes.

12:45Oldham handpicks a small team, including men and women from the NYPD and the FBI. They all have extensive experience investigating organized crime, and most of them also have a personal connection to the case. They either worked with Caracapa and Eppolito or knew their victims, and they're determined to bring the corrupt cops to justice. The team calls itself the cadre, a term often used for the inner circle of a mafia family, and to Oldham that's exactly what their meetings feel like. All sharp suits and thick New York accents, information shared on a strictly need-to-know basis. Because although Caracapa and Eppolito are now retired in Las Vegas, Oldham doesn't know who they're still connected to.

13:25One leak could ruin the entire investigation. But Oldham also knows that different agencies don't always work well together. Law enforcement is almost as territorial as the mob is. There are rivalries between local offices in New York, as well as acrimony between them and the federal agencies. So Oldham tries to reassure his team that he's not interested in playing politics. He just wants the case to get to court. Still, he has to carefully manage tensions in the cadre to keep them on the same page. But there's one thing they can all agree on. If they are finally going to nail Caracapa and Eppolito, they'll need an informant.

14:00So they comb through the list of potential witnesses again and again. Oldham keeps returning to one name, Burton Kaplan. Everyone else says it's impossible, but Oldham believes that everyone has a weakness or a price. He just has to find Kaplans. So Oldham starts listening to old recordings of prison phone calls, conversations between inmates close to Burton Kaplan. He's looking for something that might convince Kaplan to talk. And on one of these tapes, a friend of Kaplan lets slip that he has a grandson, a little boy that Kaplan's daughter has adopted from Russia. Oldham knows Kaplan is a family man.

14:37Perhaps the chance to spend more time with his grandson might be enough to convince Kaplan to talk. Oldham thinks it's worth a shot. So in May 2004, he has Kaplan brought to New York from the Pennsylvania prison where he's serving his sentence. Oldham sets up a meeting at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He brings with him an investigator from the district attorney's office. And a few minutes before the meeting, Oldham stops by a vending machine and picks up a bag of pretzels and a can of Coke, figuring Kaplan might be hungry after his long bus ride. Then Oldham and his partner take their seats in the cramped interview room and wait.

15:15After a few minutes, the door opens and Bert and Kaplan shuffles in. He's 71 now and squints at them through thick glasses. He reminds Oldham of a mole blinking in the sunlight after years underground. As Kaplan sits down, Oldham pushes the pretzels and Coke across the table. Kaplan opens the can. Oh, refreshments for your guests. I appreciate that. You've got manners. Kaplan opens the pretzels and starts eating, looking expectantly at the two officers across the table. Oldham smiles. Well, of course, Bert, we're friendly people, and I won't waste your time. You're not a bad guy, are you? Really, relatively speaking?

15:52A bit of pot, right? I was set up. I was running a legitimate business. Of course. But yeah, I mean, you're no Anthony Casso, is my point. Kaplan blinks at the mention of his old friend, but he doesn't say anything. Olum continues. What I don't get is this. Guys who committed murders get less time than you. I mean, with good behavior, when do you get out? When you're 90? That doesn't seem fair. All right. Thanks for the coke, detectives. Kaplan starts to stand, and Oldham gets up. Hey, where are you going? You brought me all the way from Pennsylvania for this, Mr. Oldham? I've heard this pitch before.

16:27If I tell you about my friends, you can make it right. Well, it's just two of your friends we're interested in, and you know who we mean. Well, I don't want any of what you're selling. I'm no rat. Bert, the world has changed. We've got guys lining up to talk to us now. Capos, crews, everyone's doing it. Why take the fall alone? I took an oath. And so did these two cops. Protect and serve. If every cop in New York City was like them, no one could walk the streets. They're not bad guys. They just got into the wrong business. Well, they wouldn't keep quiet for you. One of them would at least. Look, I think we're done here.

17:01No offense, fellas, but even I've got better things to do. Yeah, like visit your grandson? Kaplan's eyes flash with anger. What'd you say? I'm sure your daughter would like her son to know her grandfather. Kaplan turns to the door. Let me out, please. You can still be part of his life, Bert. Let me out. You really going to choose your friends and the NYPD over this? You're going to die in jail without ever really knowing him? Is that what you want? Kaplan is silent for a long moment. She brings him up to see me sometimes. Then Kaplan sits back down and takes a deep breath. Can I use your pen and paper?

17:38Oldham slides a yellow legal pad across the table. He watches as Kaplan scribbles the name and number of his lawyer on it. Ah, thank you, Bert. Kaplan pushes the pad back to him. I'm not doing it for you. A few moments later, Bert and Kaplan is shuffling out of the room and on his way back to Pennsylvania. William Oldham is left flabbergasted. He got to him. Kaplan is finally going to turn. And when he does, Stephen Caracapa and Louis Eppolito won't stand a chance.

18:12I'm Raza Jaffray, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we open the file on Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution. America is fighting to free itself from the British Empire, and one of its foremost generals is Benedict Arnold. He's a smuggler turned battlefield hero and admired for his aggressive tactics. But when a war wound, a new wife, debts and politics, test his loyalty to the mags, he turns spy and devises a plot to shatter the revolution and help Britain capture rebel commander-in-chief General George Washington. And that plot would make him the most infamous traitor in US history.

18:56Follow The Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of The Spy Who Betrayed the American Revolution early and ad-free on Audible.

19:13As Americans, we're constantly grappling with a fundamental question. Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we strive to create the world as it should be? Our answers tend to ebb and flow through the decades. But once, just after a war that nearly tore us apart, we came as close as we've come to answering it. And it's a story worth a closer look. I'm Michelle Obama, and I'm proud to announce Higher Ground's new podcast, Reconstruction, The Unfinished Promise. Guided by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell and featuring my husband, Barack Obama, this limited series uncovers the untold stories of reconstruction, what they mean for us today, and how our past can shape the future we choose to build.

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20:24Soon after his meeting with Detective William Oldham, prosecutors moved Burton Kaplan to a county jail in rural New Jersey. A low-security facility full of petty criminals is the last place anyone would look for a high-level gangster like Kaplan, and this move is designed to keep Kaplan safe from anyone who might want to stop him from talking, because that's what he does. Over the following months, Kaplan lays bare his life of crime and his long partnership with Luis Eppolito and Stephen Caracaba. Kaplan explains where they met, what they were paid, and how, and he finally solves the mystery of his address book.

20:59Oldham has spent years staring at his pages, trying to figure out the code inside, but Kaplan tells him it wasn't that complicated. He kept a record of Caracapa's number under a false name, Marco. Oldham can't quite believe that the answer has been sitting there in plain sight all along. Still, at least he knows now that Kaplan's little black book can be used in court as evidence. Piece by piece, Oldham is building his case. But across the country in Las Vegas, Eppolito and Caracapa have no idea Kaplan has turned and that Oldham is closing in. Instead, they're keeping themselves busy. Caracapa has set up a private investigation agency, and Eppolito works for him as muscle.

21:40But it isn't enough for Louis Eppolito. Thanks to his years of working for the mob, he's gotten used to a certain lifestyle. He collects expensive knives and guns, and he likes taking friends and family out to upscale restaurants. He just can't afford to do that on what Caracapa pays him. So Eppolito looks for alternative sources of income. He still dreams of striking it rich in the movies, and he's had some luck. One of his screenplays is turned into a straight-to-video movie called Turn of Faith. Boosted by this success, Eppolito starts looking for investors for his next project. Of course, he knows from his experience on the East Coast where to find people with money.

22:19And it's not long before he's introduced to a crooked accountant named Steve Corso. The pair quickly hit it off. Eppolito invites Corso to his home to show off his collection of weapons and medals, and he's even willing to let Corso date his daughter, provided he can come up with the money for his movie first. And soon, Corso tells Eppolito that he's found an investor. He knows someone in Florida who's interested in buying one of his scripts. Eppolito asks for$75 ,000 and gleefully starts imagining how he's going to spend it all. But in reality, there is no investor. Steve Corso is an informant for the FBI.

22:56Back in 2002, he was caught stealing more than$5 million from the clients of his accounting firm. He's been working for the FBI ever since. And by the time he meets Eppolito, he's already recorded over a thousand conversations with members of the Las Vegas underworld. world. And word of Corso's work and the fake movie deal soon reaches Detective William Oldham in New York. He can't believe his luck. After all these years, Eppolito has all but come knocking on his door. He immediately encourages the FBI to pursue the lead. So over the following weeks, Steve Corso continues to meet with Eppolito and records everything he says, from family gossip to racist rants to boasts about his writing prowess.