Jack Garcia was a Cuban-born FBI agent. He was also an investor in a strip club, a jewel thief and an extortionist. No, he wasn’t moonlighting to make some extra cash; he was in the business of undercover investigation. He participated in 100 covert operations, but none could compare to the degree of dedication required to infiltrate the Gambino Crime family. Under the alias Jack Falcone, Garcia successfully took down 39 members of the infamous New York crime organization.
According to Deadline Hollywood, a movie about Garcia is in the works and it’ll star Benicio del Toro. The project will reunite del Toro with his Che writer and director, Peter Buchman and Steven Soderbergh. Buchman penned the script and Soderbergh, who’s currently fishing for a director, is on board to produce. The duo originally had Making Jack Falcone set up at Paramount, but DH predicts the studio will soon let it go.
I don’t quite understand why they would ditch the project, considering this seems like a fantastic filmmaking idea with a fascinating character at its core. Garcia had everything working against him. At 6’4” and 390 lbs, blending in wasn’t really an option and even being of Italian lineage, his Cuban heritage posed a major problem. With help from his handler, Garcia went through ‘The Mob School’ and came out extremely knowledgeable of every little nuance down to the broccoli band wallet. Thanks to this training he was offered the mafia’s highest honor, becoming a made man, just before the FBI closed the investigation.
So, is del Toro capable of acting as well as the man he’s trying to portray? He might need to put on some pounds in order to make it truly convincing, but if any actor can do it, it’s del Toro. The guy’s played everything from Samoan Attorney Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to American actor Lawrence Talbot in the recently released The Wolfman.
Want to learn more about Jack Garcia? Check out this feature from 60 Minutes:
