# Joe Pistone **Entity class:** Person **Aliases:** Donnie Brasco **Domain:** FBI undercover operations ## Definition **Joseph D. Pistone** is a former FBI special agent known for a six-year undercover penetration of the Bonanno crime family under the name **Donnie Brasco**. The FBI describes the assignment as a masterful acting job requiring him to think, talk, and act consistently with the assumed role. ## Relationships - **served in:** [[wiki/Federal Bureau of Investigation|Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. - **role:** [[wiki/Undercover Employee|Undercover Employee]]. - **penetrated:** Bonanno crime family. - **tradecraft:** [[wiki/Legend (Intelligence)|Legend]], behavioral continuity, and adaptive interaction. - **source:** [[research/The Producer Function in Intelligence Tradecraft and Dramaturgy|The Producer Function in Intelligence Tradecraft and Dramaturgy]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [FBI — Joe Pistone, Undercover Agent](https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/joe-pistone-undercover-agent)