Being Uncle Charlie took its toll on former undercover cop Bob Deasy

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      Life as an undercover police operative isn’t easy—particularly for those who infiltrate outlaw motorcycle gangs and organized criminal gangs.

      That’s an inescapable conclusion from former Ontario Provincial Police officer Bob Deasy’s new book about his 23-year career, Being Uncle Charlie: A Life Undercover with Killers, Kingpins, Bikers and Druglords (Random House Canada).

      “Your whole life takes a distant second to undercover,” Deasy said in a recent interview at the Georgia Straight office. “Unfortunately, when you get into it and good at it—and then immersed in it—you can’t afford to be away from it. Of course, that comes with the sacrifice of home and family. And then with that, you run the jeopardy of exhausting what relationships you do have. Eventually, people move on, usually without you.”

      He describes in the book how he gained the trust of the Outlaws motorcycle gang and Russian and Italian Mafia leaders in Ontario before taking them down.

      He had to go into character to pull this off, spending an inordinate amount of time with his police colleagues and his quarry.

      While stationed in Thunder Bay, Deasy and his fellow cops all kept apartments in the same complex. His was the largest, so it became their de facto clubhouse.

      Eventually, his wife said she didn’t want to see them in their home ever again. From there, he writes, things went downhill.

      When asked what he hoped to accomplish by writing the book, Deasy responded: “It was a way of letting my friends—close friends and family—know where I was for those 20 years… Because, quite frankly, they had no idea—let alone where I was, but what I was doing.”

      He said that his takedown of a Russian organized-crime family was particularly hard because it came near the end of his career as an undercover officer.

      He was the first Canadian cop to penetrate the Russian mob, and in the book he describes the head of the gang as “a bloodless, sadistic Ed Asner”.

      “They were extremely rich, and all lived in separate houses on the same circular cul-de-sac that functioned as a private compound,” Deasy writes. “They were the most selfish people I’d ever met in my twenty years of socializing with sociopaths and murderers.”

      They were abusive to women. They were also rude to waiters in restaurants. And dinner bills routinely topped $5,000 for four.

      “They were a really tough nut to crack, and I did love the challenge,” Deasy told the Straight. “But I was getting really tired and impatient.”

      At one point in the interview, he looked out the window and spotted a brown Porsche on West Broadway.

      “When I see things like that parked there, it brings back two memories,” he said. “I’m glad I’m not driving that anymore—the Porsche—and then I’m wondering, ‘Boy, it would be fun to drive that again.’ ”

      He also devotes a chapter in his book to the times he played the role of Mr. Big to trick suspected murderers into giving away details about their crimes.

      Deasy revealed that he received a far better adrenaline rush obtaining murder confessions than he ever did buying a kilo of cocaine.

      “I’d go right back through the entire murder and ask extremely poignant questions as, you know, ‘What did you do to them? Where did you go? What did you do with your clothes? The knife? The gun? The axe?’ ” Deasy recalled. “And then the police were able to act on that in conjunction with the confession. So I felt extremely satisfied with the outcomes. And quite frankly in an undercover career, it was the most rewarding.”

      He stated that police forces in Canada are making progress against outlaw motorcycle gangs. That’s because law-enforcement personnel are utilizing technology and sharing information with each other.

      He contrasted that to when he first became a police officer—it was an era when cops didn’t spend a lot of time talking to members in other forces.

      Being Uncle Charlie includes some mild criticisms of the RCMP, which is described as a rigid police force that refuses to share information and craves the media spotlight.

      “The RCMP are incapable of adapting or evolving,” Deasy claims in the book, “so they become the worst thing you can be when dealing with criminals: predictable.”

      When asked if Lower Mainland residents should be concerned if they live in a jurisdiction policed by the Mounties, he backed off somewhat.

      “I mean, the things I was professionally jousting with the RCMP are things that we’ve professionally jousted about since the day policing started,” Deasy said. “I don’t think the people of B.C. or anywhere else for that matter—East Coast to the West—has any concerns. Sometimes in specific undercover work, like I did, it’s a lot easier to roll, as it were, as a small group as opposed to [being in] a large group.”

      Comments

      6 Comments

      shootingstar

      Jan 25, 2014 at 9:59am

      My thx to undercover police officers like Beasley. They are laying their lives on the line.

      Arnie

      Jan 28, 2014 at 5:45am

      You got to love these undercover cops. They talk about how tough it was for them to ignore their families. Please. They love the excitement and leave their families for it. This guy brags about hitting on a female cop and keeping it "under raps" until his wife finally leaves him. I get it that it's dangerous work but please don't play the victim. Being under cover didn't take a toll. Making bad choices took its toll...like it does for everyone else.

      Just me

      Feb 28, 2014 at 8:33pm

      I have a friend who claims she wrote this book and this is her life(and seriously - she believes this) ...please tell me this is not so and if I have to seek alternate mental help for her... this is no joke..she claims this is her story!

      Ricky R

      Apr 4, 2014 at 12:33pm

      I'm a retired RCMP officer. I know Deasy and worked cases he was involved in as a U/C. I don't doubt that he was an able U/C. I do take exception to his criticism of the RCMP. The RCMP developed undercover operations and trained other services members in this avenue starting in the early 70's. A U/C is an investigative tool. He is directed what to do and how to move the case forward. Being a U/C doesn't make one a good investigator, just "sometimes" one who can take direction. I hope he sells lots of books but not on the backs of the case officers that develop and prosecute the targets in court...

      Joncas

      Apr 11, 2014 at 1:57pm

      I'm a retired Mountie as well Ricky R and I know Deasy as I work with him in the Toronto area.....Great comedian in front of a crowd, the guy can talk, however, like you described, not much of an investigator. For the better part of his service, Deasy couldn't find an elephant in a snow drift.....

      Apple Jack

      Nov 16, 2014 at 8:29am

      I too have worked with Bob Deasy. In my time with him, I enjoyed very much to work with the man. He made the job feel like a hobby. Very relaxed environment. Never rushed. Still to this day, I respect what he has done for our province, and the advice he has passed onto myself. We don't interact much anymore but I have held onto a few valued lessons picked up along the way from Bob. Thank you my Friend! Thank you for everything!