Well, If Life Isn't Surreal Enough...

...but this story tops the cake. In my opinion it's right behind 9/11 in the surrealness factor. And as the Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said "it reaches a level of disbelief".

This very well written article in the Los Angeles Times by Josh Getlin, like a Hollywood screenplay, describes how two New York Cops, Louie Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa one leaving the service with decorations, became assasins for the Mob. (If the link doesn't work, try search under Los Angeles Times, Josh Getlin and the name of the article A Detective Story Alleging Hit Men in Blue)

Excerpt from the story:

His grandfather [Eppolito's], "Diamond" Louie; his father, Ralph "Fat the
Gangster"; and his uncle, Jimmy "The Clam," were members of the Gambino crime family.

They engaged in loan sharking, numbers running, money laundering and extortion.

Once, during a lecture at the police academy, Eppolito's class examined a chart with black-and-white photographs of New York organized crime figures, according to his autobiography.

"Hey, Louie," said a classmate, "there's a guy here with your last name."

It was a snapshot of his father.

Ya know, that kinda reminds me of our own former federal Public Works Minister, Alphonso Gagliano, you know, the one that heads the Canadian Mint and Security clearances? Hey Alphonso, there's a guy here with your last name!