In the first half, former FBI agent Mike Campi discussed his extensive career targeting organized crime, specifically the Genovese crime family in New York, the country's most secretive and powerful Mob organization. Campi's determination helped lead to the indictment of key figures within the Genovese administration. He shared the harrowing story of Michael 'Cookie' D'Urso, a Genovese associate who survived being shot in the head at a social club where his cousin was killed. Despite the dangers, D'Urso ultimately decided to cooperate with authorities, motivated by a desire for justice for his cousin's murder. Campi explained, "He wanted his story told... to discourage and talk about the hypocrisy of that life." D'Urso's cooperation with the FBI led to a significant investigation that uncovered deep connections within organized crime, including plans for violent confrontations with rival factions, a war with Albanian crime families, and the control of port unions.
Another Genovese mobster, George Barone, who worked the docks and waterfronts, eventually became a cooperating witness for the government, Campi reported. He traced the evolution of organized crime from Prohibition in the 1920s through pivotal events like the Appalachian meeting of 1957, which marked a significant shift in mob dynamics. He highlighted how figures like Lucky Luciano and Vito Genovese navigated a treacherous landscape of alliances and betrayals, explaining their ethos: "Your crime family is supposed to come before your blood family." Regarding Hollywood's portrayal of mobsters, he said it's often over the top, "painting them as sophisticated figures manipulating law enforcement," while the truth reveals a world steeped in betrayal and hypocrisy.
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In the latter half, Christian researcher Michael Lichens spoke about strange and overlooked parts of Christian history, including saints, monsters, ghost stories, and unusual miracles. Delving into saints known for their miraculous deeds and encounters with demons, he emphasized their historical role as exorcists, including St. Patrick's battle against demonic birds that "blocked out the sun" in the 5th century, and St. Nicholas, who was said to rid a town of a "demonically possessed tree" by blessing it and taking an axe to it in the 4th century. The tree, Lichens detailed, reportedly screeched at people and gave them nightmares. More recently, Padre Pio (1887-1968) was said to have the gift of bilocation, being able to appear in two places at the same time, and he also experienced levitation and stigmata wounds.
On the topic of possession and the targets of demons, he suggested that individuals who dabble in the occult or are cursed can fall victim. "Sometimes God permits these things to happen," he added, citing cases involving holy people and saints. Lichens also touched on the life of the famous Catholic exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, who performed thousands of exorcisms even up to the age of 91. Regarding miracles, Lichens asserted, "Miracles still do happen today," and shared a recent case of incorruptibility involving Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, a Benedictine nun in Missouri whose body was found with little signs of decomposition when her coffin was moved in 2023.
News segment guests: Lauren Weinstein, Steve Kates