REEL FACE: | REAL FACE: |
Bryan Cranston
Born: March 7, 1956 Birthplace: Hollywood, California, USA | Robert Mazur
Birthplace: Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA |
John Leguizamo
Born: July 22, 1964 Birthplace: Bogotá, Colombia | Emir Abreu
Birthplace: Aguadilla, Puerto Rico |
Diane Kruger
Born: July 15, 1976 Birthplace: Algermissen, Lower Saxony, Germany | Kathy Ertz
Birthplace: USA |
Benjamin Bratt
Born: December 16, 1963 Birthplace: San Francisco, California, USA | Roberto Alcaino
Born: abt 1937 Birthplace: Chile |
Amy Ryan
Born: May 3, 1968 Birthplace: Queens, New York City, New York, USA | Bonni Tischler
Born: February 18, 1945 Birthplace: New York, USA Death: August 9, 2005 |
Joseph Gilgun
Born: March 9, 1984 Birthplace: Chorley, Lancashire, England, UK | Alexander Biscuiti
Born: July 12, 1942 Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA Death: July 13, 2014, New Port Richey, Florida, USA (cancer) |
Rubén Ochandiano
Born: October 3, 1980 Birthplace: Madrid, Spain | Gonzalo Mora Jr.
Birthplace: Medellín, Colombia |
Saïd Taghmaoui
Born: July 19, 1973 Birthplace: Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, France | Amjad Awan
Birthplace: Pakistan |
Carsten Hayes
| Rudy Armbrecht
Birthplace: Colombia |
Michael Paré
Born: October 9, 1958 Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA | Barry Seal
Born: July 16, 1939 Birthplace: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA Death: February 19, 1986, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA (gunshot) |
Art Malik
Born: November 13, 1952 Birthplace: Bahawalpur, Pakistan | Akbar Bilgrami
Birthplace: Islamabad, Pakistan |
While fact-checking The Infiltrator movie, we learned that as a result of his undercover work to infiltrate the money-laundering arm of the drug cartels, Robert Mazur has received death threats from the cartels, forcing him to keep his appearance concealed (CNN). The Robert Mazur photo below is from his Twitter profile and the photo at the top of the page of Mazur undercover as Bob Musella are two of the few photos of Robert Mazur. Interviews are either conducted by phone or with Mazur's face shaded out. "Unfortunately, we didn't take the cartel down through my work. We certainly gave them a big bump in the road," says Mazur. "The fact of the matter is I dealt with people who killed people every day. I mean I was in meetings when people spoke of killing the person who just walked out of the room ten minutes before." -Mazur Daytime Interview
Yes. The Infiltrator true story reveals that John Leguizamo's character, Emir Abreu is based on Mazur's real-life partner. "Remember, the outcome of Operation C-Chase goes to the credit of the 250+ dedicated law enforcement officers around the world that contributed to the outcome. It truly was a team effort," says Mazur, "and my brother Emir Abreu was a critical member of that team" (Robert Mazur Facebook Page). Much like in the movie, Emir Abreu was a practical-joking seasoned Customs agent from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. What he lacked in formal education, he made up for it in street smarts. In his book, Mazur says that Abreu had an acute skill at reading people.
In researching The Infiltrator true story, we learned that Operation C-Chase was an operation carried out by U.S. authorities in the mid-1980s to infiltrate a substantial money-laundering enterprise utilized by the drug cartels, including those run by Pablo Escobar and Manuel Noriega. The enterprise cleaned and moved hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The corrupt bank that was the focus of the investigation was the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), the seventh largest privately held financial institution in the world at the time, with assets totaling $20 billion. The bank, which had locations in the U.S., including Miami, was infiltrated by undercover U.S. Customs agents posing as big-time money launderers. One such agent was Robert Mazur (pictured in disguise below) -NBC News
Money laundering is the practice of moving traceable tainted cash (drug money, etc.) into a variety of accounts or businesses that appear legitimate. The illegal cash becomes so heavily mixed with lawful tender that tracing its origins becomes difficult, if not impossible. In many instances, after illegal drugs are smuggled into the country and sold, the profits are smuggled back out of the country and deposited into overseas banks, where less suspicions are raised. The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) that was targeted by Robert Mazur and his fellow customs agents was one such bank, willingly participating in money laundering for the cartels.
Yes, Roberto Baez-Alcaino, portrayed by Benjamin Bratt in The Infiltrator movie, was a wealthy Chilean-born jeweler who was one of the main collectors of cash for the Medellín Cartel in the United States. Like in the movie, he had direct ties to the cartel's leader, Pablo Escobar. Alcaino worked with Bob Musella (Robert Mazur's undercover identity) to reroute drug money through seemingly reputable businesses. This included a Los Angeles construction company that was erecting a $750,000 apartment complex. Roberto Alcaino also formed a company called Antillas Promotions. The company promoted a boxing match, a venue where large sums of cash could easily be commingled with drug money. -The Washington Post
Yes. Though it's not stated in the movie, the real Bonni Tischler (portrayed by Amy Ryan in the film) earned the nickname because of the gold-plated Smith & Wesson .38 she carried. "The boys were all buying automatics, but they were too big for me," she told The Washington Post in 1987. "They kept saying my chrome-plated .357 Magnum clashed with my gold jewelry." While making arrests, drug traffickers routinely offered to buy the gold pistol off her. During our investigation into The Infiltrator true story, we learned that Bonni Tischler and Robert Mazur butted heads in real life too, even more so than what is shown in the movie.
The real Robert Mazur operated undercover for five years, infiltrating money-laundering operations connected to Colombia's drug cartels (RobertMazur.com). As part of Operation C-Chase, Mazur worked undercover over a period of two years and helped to launder $34 million connected to Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel. Mazur made approximately 1,200 recordings of corrupt senior bank officials and high-level drug traffickers, eventually bringing them to justice (Anderson Cooper 360).
No. In The Infiltrator movie, Robert Mazur (undercover as Bob Musella) attempts to win access to a henchman by going through a bizarre voodoo ritual. The ritual ends with the stranger sitting next to him being shot in the head. Bob thinks the end has possibly arrived for him too until he's suddenly told, "This was an audition. You got the part." The real Mazur does not mention a man being killed next to him in his book. However, he is introduced to a man named Fonseca, who meets him in a room that has shelves configured like an altar, lit candles, and dried blood from the sacrifice of countless animals. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Fonseca determines that Mazur (undercover as Bob Musella) is a "good and honorable man who keeps his word."
"He told me his motive," says Mazur. "'Bob, I want to do whatever I can to make this world a better place for my kids.'" The real Eric Wellman passed away in February 2016, just a few months before the release of The Infiltrator movie. He had expressed to Robert Mazur his excitement for the movie. -Robert Mazur Facebook Page
No. Unlike the movie, Roberto Baez-Alcaino was arrested in New York in September of 1988 while he supervised the unloading of 17 pounds of cocaine hidden in anchovy cans. He did not escape and later show up at the wedding. It was part of a larger shipment of over two tons of cocaine that came through Philadelphia from an Argentine anchovy company Alcaino had purchased. -OrlandoSentinel.com
Yes, but the wedding ceremony never happened. Robert Mazur, who was undercover as Bob Musella, worked with fellow agents to stage his own fake wedding. These agents included Kathy Ertz, who was playing the part of his fiancée (under the name Kathleen Erickson). The lavish affair was to be held in a large tent at the Innisbrook Golf Resort north of Tampa (this video offers a glimpse of the venue and the wedding tent). $20,000 in roses were paid for by one of the drug bosses. The invited guests included the crooked bankers and some of their drug boss customers who flew in from around the world.
Yes. Robert Mazur had worked as a consultant on the 2006 film Miami Vice starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Director Michael Mann told Mazur that his life story had tremendous potential to be a film. This encouraged Mazur to write The Infiltrator book as the basis for a potential movie. Once the movie went into development, Mazur was happy when he found out that Bryan Cranston would be playing him. -RobertMazur.com
Further investigate The Infiltrator true story by watching the interviews and the Operation C-Chase news report below.