The nation’s top leaders from both parties put aside their differences in the late 1960s to create tough-but-fair law enforcement tools that broke the Mafia’s horrid power.

That process was the focus of a fascinating panel organized last week by the Richard Nixon Foundation, which recorded the session and provides it here for viewing. The issues are in the news also because on June 22 the FBI arrested James "Whitey" Bulger, who had been on the run since 1995. The FBI put up $2 million reward in a worldwide manhunt for their former Mafia informant, the subject of two major books and inspiration for the 2006 movie, "The Departed," as portrayed by Jack Nicholson. Bulger now faces charges of participating in 13 murders. 

The federal crusade against the Mafia carries a strong personal link for me. My mother was an author during the 1960s who volunteered to federal officials to make underworld drug buys as part of her book research about the mob's role in counterfeiting prescription drugs dispensed by the nation's pharmacies and physicians. Then In 1967, she was invited to be a star witness kicking off one of the major congressional oversight hearings about the Mafia after its existence was revealed. More recently, the Justice Integrity Project that I lead exposes misconduct by officials at today's Justice Department in situations where politics leads to dire results for the public.

Let’s start with last week’s forum in Washington, DC.

The foundation convened four Justice Department alumns instrumental in helping top national political leaders win public support for vital anti-racketeering legislation. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act signed in 1970 by President Nixon, portrayed at right, provided the legal tools to crush the long-powerful secret society. The Mafia, or what New Yorkers call Cosa Nostra, was virtually unknown to others until longtime member Joe Valachi began talking in 1962 to trusted federal prosecutors and Bureau of Narcotics agents. Even then, many in the public and law enforcement did not know about his account or appreciate that he was providing a roadmap to vast corruption of American business, unions and politics.

By Andrew Kreig / Project Director

Three major news reports by the New York Times since June 17 about dubious legal conduct at the White House and Supreme Court illustrate why the mainstream media remains irreplaceable in our democratic discourse. Reporters can break courageous, careful and vital work in the independent media on these topics but it's largely without impact unless and until the corporate-owned media make the news available to millions.

In this instance, the Times landed Mike Tyson-style attention-getters to the jaw of President Obama and, separately, to Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.To be more clear, we're not talking about the dainty version of SNAFU suitable for the parlor. Instead, this is in the spirit of the original military vernacular. Conditions could even be approaching FUBAR, scandal and worse. 

Specifically, the Times reported that Obama began hostile operations against Libya's government despite warnings from his political appointees at the Justice and Defense Departments that his plan violated the governing 1973 War Powers Act. Regarding Thomas, the paper reported that favors bestowed on the justice and his wife by a wealthy Georgia conservative activist raise new and serious questions about the ethics of justice whose fitness for the bench has been harshly disputed ever since the scandals surrounding his 52-48 Senate confirmation. The third Times report describes how the Obama White House, even after its outrageous prosecution of former National Security Agency (NSA) executive Thomas Drake that ended in a misdemeanor plea, is still pushing ahead on its unprecedented crackdown against officials who cooperate with news reporters.