In this episode, retired agents Bob Anderson and Carl Larsen review the major role Lou Peters, the owner of a Cadillac dealership in Lodi, California, played in the takedown of mobster Joseph Bonanno, Sr. In 1977, Bonanno had a mob associate approach Lou Peters with an offer to buy his Cadillac dealership to launder illegal funds. Peters instead met with Bob Anderson, who was assigned the case. Carl Larsen was the technical agent who wired Lou and his undercover apartment for sound.
Lou Peters was able to gain the mobster’s trust, all the while recording his every word. His testimony was a crucial part of the government’s case and led to the conviction of Bonanno for conspiracy to obstruct a federal grand jury and perjury—the first felony conviction of the leader of the Bonanno organized crime family. Lou’s cooperation also led to the conviction of mob family member Jack DeFilippi.
FBI Director William H. Webster presented Peters with an award that read in part, “To Lou Peters, who set new standards of patriotism, of selflessness, and of valor, with the gratitude and respect of his FBI friends.”
Following Lou Peters’ death from cancer, the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI began presenting an annual Louis E. Peters Memorial Award to private citizens who selflessly dedicate their time and service to assist the FBI in uncovering wrongdoing.
Special Agent (Retired)
Bob Anderson
11/62 – 1/88
Bob Anderson served in the FBI for 26 years. Prior to joining, he flew fighter jets in the Air Force for four years. His first office was the Dallas Division. He was there in Texas in 1962, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He worked on the case for nine months before being transferred to San Francisco, where he worked obscene matters and prostitutes for nine months, before he was reassigned to the Stockton Resident Agency (RA) out of the Sacramento Division.
Bob received the Attorney General’s Award for bravery for disarming a person carrying a bomb inside the Federal Post Office building, which housed the RA. at that time. In 1981, he was shot during a bank robbery while posing as a head teller. The robber who shot him was killed. Bob next took an office-of-preference transfer to Honolulu, where he remained for two years.
Special Agent (Retired)
Carl Larsen
6/69 – 6/89
Carl Larsen served in the FBI for 20 years. He had previously worked for AT&T in Phoenix and was a reserve deputy sheriff with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department while attending Arizona State University, where he majored in accounting. After joining the Bureau, he was assigned to the Seattle Field Office. His second office was Sacramento, where after a year, he was selected for the first official FBI technical training class. He worked national security matters and white-collar crime cases. He also supported approximately 125 agents in headquarter city and 12 resident agencies while working cases, until after 10 years, he was relieved of casework responsibilities and was made a full-time technical advisor.
After retirement, I was a licensed private investigator in California and Arizona and additionally did technical countermeasures surveys both in and outside of the US, while also working for 21 more years as a part-time FBI BICS background investigator.
Lori Peters
In her memoir God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me, Lori shares the true stories of her father, Lou Peters, a former combat Marine who attracted the attention of the Bonanno crime family and was thrust into a spotlight he never imagined for himself. Her story reveals the inexplicable ties that bind, the hope that’s always possible, and the overwhelming power of love.
She has had several careers…dental assistant, cosmetologist, massage therapist and a flight attendant, though her one passion for 40 years was finishing her father’s story. However, her diagnosed PTSD got in the way. She moved to a beautiful island in Washington State to operate her barbershop. Finishing her father’s story saved her. She shares her home with two cats and Leo, her canine co-worker.
The following are news articles and case-related images featuring Lou Peters’ FBI cooperation and Joseph Bonanno Sr., and the Bonanno crime family:
Alta – 12/18/2020: When the Mafia Came to Lodi
UPI Archives – 10/2/1980: California auto dealer Louis Peters spent 2 years…
New York Times – 7/23/1981: Informer in Case of Bonanno Dies of Cancer in California
The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI – Louis E. Peters Memorial Award
FBI Website (VIDEO): The Lou Peters Story
The FBI Vault: Joseph Bonanno FBI Files
This is the second time I’ve invited a daughter to review a case with the case agent. Listen to FBI Case File Review episode 216: Joe Robuck – DUI Ticket-Fixing, Bribery to hear from a daughter who assisted the FBI in the investigation of her father and his associates.
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