311: Jerry Hester – Mafia Miami, Operation Paesan Blues

Subscribe! Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

In this episode, retired agent Jerry Hester reviews his Paesan Blues investigation, an FBI undercover operation that targeted Italian mafioso Roberto Settineri’s global crime network, with the collaboration of the Italian National Police (INP) and, surprisingly, the cooperation of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.

The Miami United States Attorney’s Office honored Jerry with an Outstanding Law Enforcement of the Year Award for his work on the Paesan Blues investigation. After reviewing the case, Jerry discusses the administrative roadblocks he encountered while running the complex investigation.

Special Agent (Retired)

Jerry Hester

12/1997 – 4/2018

“Settineri tells him that he thinks one of the guys he’s been dealing with and he’s talking about our undercover agent. He believes he’s a cop. Settineri doesn’t give a reason why he thinks this. He just says that something doesn’t feel right to him. And in the call, the associate tells him, ‘Hey, if you feel that way, walk away. Your instincts have always served you well, Roberto.’ And that was exactly what Settineri did. He completely walked away from our undercover agent forever. He never called him again.”

Jerry served in the FBI for 20 years, conducting criminal investigations into matters involving Organized Crime, Narcotics, Public Corruption and Counterterrorism.

He was assigned to the Miami and San Francisco FBI field offices, where he gained extensive experience in working joint international investigations with foreign government officials. Before his retirement, he managed the Miami FBI’s confidential human source program.

Currently, Jerry is an integrity representative with the National Football League (NFL) Security Department, conducting and overseeing game day security for players and referees, and monitoring compliance with NFL policy as it relates to the legalized sports betting industry.

Jerry is the author of Mafia Miami: FBI Politics and How an Investigation was Nearly Sabotaged.

The book is focused on Operation Paesan Blues and the investigation of Settineri, but it also describes how and why Jerry believes internal agency politics and conflicting agendas affected the investigation.