In Covert, lawman turned NBA referee Bob Delaney (with coauthor Dave Scheiber) describes his experiences infiltrating the mob in 1975.
Why write now about your experiences from three decades ago?
I had been approached about writing a book while I was still in the [New Jersey] state police, but I didn't think it was the right time to tell the story. Now, at 55 years old, I can look back and be far more reflective, more introspective and have a better understanding of what actually took place.
How do you account for the American public's continuing fascination with the Mafia?
When somebody does something to us in everyday life that's hurtful or wrong, there's a part of you that would like to take some action against them. It' simply human nature. Most people take revenge through character assassination rather than real assassination. In addition, mob subculture has been glorified through the movies and television. People fantasize that it would be interesting to step inside this world called the Mafia.
What are the biggest popular misconceptions about the Mafia?
That they only hurt their own, that the mob doesn't deal in drugs, that they're not bad guys. The truth is—it's all business. They'll deal in anything that makes money. People get hurt because of the mob's greed. You may not be hurt physically, but you'll be hurt because of the additional payments you have to make to an insurance company because they've been stealing cars. To think that the Mafia doesn't have an impact on society is very naïve.
What led you to become an NBA referee?
I was looking to find some normalcy, and the game of basketball was something that I had been around much of my life. After living a life that forced me to see all that was bad in society, I wanted to see some things that were good: kids playing ball, families supporting their kids, cheerleaders cheering, school spirit. And being part of those games at the youth level was a form of therapy for me. I never intended, the day I walked into refereeing, to become an NBA official. Never did I look at it as anything more than a release from the toilet I'd been living in during my undercover years. Being on that court allows me just to focus on that game for three hours. There's a tremendous peace for me that come from that.
