YOU CAN'T TELL THE PLAYERS (Without A Scorecard) Summary:

The story begins in the early seventies, which were troublesome years for the United States Department of Justice. The country was still agonizing over the assassination of President Kennedy, and the subsequent murder of his brother Bobby. Viet Nam was winding down as a result of social unrest and protest. There was a general attitude of public indifference and apathy towards the government, and long-standing federal employees were subjected to the scrutiny of ambitious politicians.

Following the death of J. Edgar Hoover the FBI became disorganized. In the turmoil and confusion of bureaucratic in-fighting, known criminal syndicates were boldly conducting business in the open and the illegal drug trade was rapidly infiltrating traditional factions of organized crime. The old style criminals, known as "Mustache Petes" and Mafia kingpins were a dying breed, and a new lineage of ruthless criminal was emerging in their place. The ‘Wiseguys’, as they were known, were more resourceful and ambitious than their predecessors.

For the most part, federal law enforcement was ineffective against the new breed due to an historical, yet to be known clandestine alliance with the underworld over the previous ten years. Specific problems within the Department of Justice were promulgated by a lack of cooperation and communication between various government agencies, which resulted a monumental deception at the highest levels of government in the form of a "secret" that would change the course of history.

It has been said that, "One of the problems with history, is that it often repeats itself, and the actions of a few powerful and well meaning bureaucrats was suddenly coming full circle. The indiscretions of the past were destined to surface, but not without one last effort to cover up the mistakes that were made. Thus, the game begins.

The Players come together in a calculated scheme contrived by Salvatore DiVencenzo, a decorated Viet Nam veteran and self styled adventurer with a penchant for being in the "wrong place at the wrong time". He is recruited by William H. Williams, the director of a newly formed Organized Crime Strike Force designed to infiltrate organized crime.

Williams, a manipulating U.S. Attorney and career bureaucrat persuades FBI Special Agent Jake Holbrook to convince Sal to join the mob as an undercover operative and gather information about their activities. Holbrook served with Sal in Viet Nam, and he was torn between his duty, and friendship. He reluctantly contacts Sal and offers him the assignment.

Sal had just completed graduate studies at the University of California and he was looking for a new adventure, so he accepts the assignment. From the outset, Sal's mission is unclear and Jake realizes that the operation is clandestine, but he is forced by his dedication and loyalty to the government to solicit Sal's help.

After a debriefing in San Francisco, Sal travels to Tampa, Florida and takes up the facade of a pimp to gain the acceptance of the criminal element under the control of Don Louis Galeato, the aging head of a dwindling Mafia crime family in the Southeastern United States. Galeato's power had been significantly reduced by the fall of his friends and business associates in the Caribbean and Cuba. Galeato was gradually transferring his power to his protégé, Ronaldo Sanchez, an aggressive gangster with aspirations of becoming the new ‘Don’, and revitalizing the old mob.

Sal immediately gains the respect of Sanchez by preventing Manual Hernandez, a ruthless drug dealer with a reputation for brutality, from stabbing Sanchez in the back during an altercation in an after hours nightclub. Sal then guarantees his acceptance in the criminal organization by violently eliminating three black pimps who have taken control of prostitution in Tampa. After dispatching the pimps, he takes over the prostitution business under the direction of the Sanchez and starts to build a reputation.. With Galeato's blessing, Sal quickly rises to the top of the criminal syndicate, only to find out that there is a past connection between the Mafia and the government.

Sal inadvertently discovers that U.S. Attorney Williams was a former CIA agent in the Caribbean, during which time he covertly conspired with Galeato and Hernadez's father to assassinate Fidel Castro. However, at that time, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, who was actively pursuing Galeato and the mob, did not know the CIA’s activities. The unholy alliance between the CIA and the Mafia was formed, but before the planned Castro assassination takes place, the Attorney General moves against Galeato's mob in Florida. Williams, who was intimately involved with Galeato in an aborted plot to assassinate Castro, indirectly leading to the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion is suddenly caught in the middle. The disastrous chain of events that follow causes Williams to take steps to cover-up this involvement.

Over the years that follow, Galeato's criminal organization deteriorates. Hernandez mysteriously disappears and Williams is forced to keep the secret of his assassination attempt to avoid political chaos. The mob is trying to expand beyond its current gambling and loan-sharking, into a position of power and recognition, comparable to the New York families. However, his organization was still being hounded by the Attorney General, and Galeato decides that Bobby Kennedy must be eliminated. Galeato knew that killing Bobby Kennedy would not do any good if his brother were still President. The only remedy was to kill the President of the United States. Although Williams knew that Galeato was responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, he could not retaliate without exposing his former association with organized crime.

The bizarre events that unfold reveals that Williams had placed Sal inside the organization to unwittingly keep an eye on Galeato for him. With the help of his friend Holbrook, Sal learns that Williams is operating without the authorization or knowledge of the Department of Justice. He also learns that three previous informants and a former CIA agent had been killed to keep William's secret. Sal's problems escalate when a Tampa police detective is murdered, and a Federal Grand Jury initiates an investigation into the mob's activities in Tampa. Only then does Sal realize how far Williams was willing to go to protect his secret, and he is forced to ‘play the game’ to stay alive.

Sal finally confronts Williams and presents him with the information he has obtained about his involvement with the mob, only to learn that Williams was under Presidential orders at the time. Williams never expected Sal to discover the secret, and he underestimated Sal's ability to survive. He is forced to tell his story to Sal, and why he has not exposed the real purpose for his actions. Williams tries to convince Sal to help him keep the secret.

Although he desperately wants to get out of the game Sal reluctantly returns to his undercover identity, where he is faced with a final decision. Knowing that the government is not going to do anything, Sal takes action against the mob to destroy their plans for the future; and at the same time, bury Williams' secret forever. The game goes on; only the Players names on the scorecard change.