Retired FBI agent pens tale of two men on opposite sides of the law who brought down mafia

One good tip from a con turned into a lifelong friendship for two unlikely candidates.

David Nadolski is a retiree living in Orleans whose interesting past comes to light in his new book “The Con and the FBI Agent: An Unlikely Alliance," published last year by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Nadolski was a Detroit police officer for six years and then an FBI agent for 21 years, which landed him in Boston. This true story spotlights the biggest case of his career ― stopping what could have been one of the biggest armed robberies of the 20th century and saving many lives in the process.

Let’s start from the beginning of this relationship.

Nadolski was in the FBI’s Violent Crime and Major Offenders unit when he was assigned to investigate a break-in at John Quincy Adams' Library ― called the Stone Library in 1996.

“Somebody had cut open the wooden door and bypassed the alarm system… and had stolen four very significant manuscripts from a display case inside. These books were historically important and we were in a panic to get them back,” said Nadolski.

Recovering rare books, important pieces of the past

The stolen manuscripts were: the 9 Mendi Bible and the 1621 King James Bible in Latin, both owned by John Quincy Adams. A 1772 Bible owned by Adams' wife and a natural history book from 1785 called “Block’s Ichthyology.”

During the panic, Nadolski was informed that an inmate named Anthony Romano aka “Tony,” had information for him about the robbery. Romano was an accomplished mechanic whose addiction problems led him to jail.

“When he was on his drug binges, he pulled armed robberies with a plastic squirt gun that he had painted up to look like the real thing,” Nadolski said of Romano.

Romano told Nadolski that he knew who stole the books and named Kevin Gildea. He warned Gildea would be in contact with the FBI to ask for a deal in return for the books. And that’s exactly what he did, but his request was denied.

Nadolski arrested Gildea on an unrelated gun violation. Upon searching his wallet, he found a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, gym card with a combination code on the back. Sure, enough the books were found in the back room of the gym.

Nadolski went to the parole board on Romano's behalf, and he was granted early release to a halfway house, but he would soon be calling Nadolski with another case.

The plan to rob an armored car

Romano started working at a body shop in Dorchester. According to Nadolski's book, Romano overheard owner Carmello Merlino talking to his crew Steven Rosetti, David Turner, and his nephew William Merlino planning a robbery on the Loomis-Fargo Armored Car facility in Easton. With the intention of falling under the radar, they needed a guy on the inside. And Romano tells them he can help , that he knows a guy on the “inside.”

Little did they know Romano would spend the next two years feeding Nadolski information and wearing wires to finally bring them down in 1999.

Nadolski took a risk on Romano's information. But Romano truly risked his life informing on dangerous criminals with ties to the new England Mafia.

How the heist went down

While the initial plan was to apprehend the gang before the crime was committed, it all changed when Turner was spotted putting a large duffle bag into a car that was suspected to be full of weapons.

“They were each individually arrested by the SWAT team as they approached the garage. Two of them got a little suspicious, Steven Rosetti and David Turner,” said Nadolski.

Unbeknownst to them, there was a surveillance plane following them. SWAT members had to break the car windows and drag them out. Inside the vehicle were guns, bulletproof vests, police scanners and a military grenade that was meant to be thrown at police, Nadolski said.

All four men were initially sentenced to 40 years.

Nadolski got Romano a substantial monetary reward for his work and set him up in an apartment until he was placed in witness protection.

Romano struggles in witness protection

“He kind of got homesick and ended up taking off and ending up back in Boston and calling me and I'd have to deal with him and get him back where he belongs because there were people looking for him (to kill him),” Noldelski said.

FBI agent and con man forge unlikely friendship

Romano had been affiliated with the defendants before bad blood brewed. Gildea spread rumors in jail that he was a rat. Carmello Merlino recruited Romano’s ex-wife to be a drug mule while he was incarcerated, but Nadolski explained, he believed it became something much bigger for Romano other than being vengeful.

“He just said this would be the best thing he's ever done in his life… Something that would make people proud of him and I said, 'Well, I know one person is proud of you and that's me,'” he said.

Romano died from a cerebral hemorrhage a few years ago.

You might not be able to put this book down.

Nadolski's time spent with Romano is evident in the writing. Using true storytelling, he gives a detailed account of how Romano ended up in this situation. His descriptive ability draws pictures quickly in your mind, while also explaining his own story and how he became an FBI agent.

Nadolski does not leave loose ends.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Retired FBI agent Nadolski pays tribute to informant turned friend