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Peekaboo from My Matryoshka!

Gumshoe has always been fascinated with the wooden Russian “Matryoshka Nesting Dolls”.  They come in different sizes and in various colors and with distinct details.  The original doll conceals another smaller doll that contains another smaller doll, and so on until the parade of decreasing size dolls concludes with the tiniest doll finally revealed.

Gumshoe realizes that this may not seem to amaze most folks, however, Gumshoe had a past law enforcement experience to think about the “Matryoshka Doll” during his self-imposed solitary confinement.

Okay, folks, it is not what you may think.  Gumshoe was not doing any “hard time” in the “joint” with the “screws” watching him.  It was not a “Shawshank Redemption”.

Working major narcotic cases involves many hours, days, and weeks of just plain stationary surveillance.  B o r i n g ! Mind-numbing to the uninitiated narcotics detective who had fevered fantasy dreams of “Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs” courtesy of the fast-paced “Miami Vice” TV show of the late ’80s.

Where was Gumshoe? Once upon a time, Gumshoe was a DEA guy in Los Angeles. Officially, a bonafide Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency, US Department of Justice. What a mouthful! Whoopi-do!  In street cop parlance, DEA really meant, “Don’t Expect Anything” or “Drunk Every Afternoon”.

In this regard, when Gumshoe left the DEA and got back into real city police work, he soon found himself assigned to an inter-agency police drug task force that focused on mid-level to higher-level drug trafficking organizations known today as cartels. Sometimes having too much experience and training can put one in a position that one may not readily want.  In Gumshoe’s case, it put Gumshoe into the “submarine” as the sole crew member.  Ahoy! 

Gumshoe was considered a  professional drug trafficking profiler as well as a court-recognized expert.   It was a hardy “Welcome aboard Gumshoe, avast me hardy!” from the bosses.

The “submarine” was a nondescript undercover surveillance van.  It got its moniker by being outfitted with a roof-vent periscope with a 360-degree turnabout that could accommodate a 35mm camera. The “submarine” also had an array of secret squirrel equipment that Gumshoe will not describe in any detail since it would be outdated by now.  It did blend in and it was never “made” by the dopers and their bottom-feeding scum lookouts.

Okay, Gumshoe was blessed (or some may say cursed) with the ability to run silent and deep for an extended period of time to just observe and record.  Ho hum!

Gumshoe, once secreted inside the submarine (that was driven into a targeted location; parked, and then locked up and exited by another undercover detective) would spend the following hours on end, observing, documenting, and recording details that would describe the distinct profile of illicit drug trafficking at the target.

Drug couriers, delivery vehicles as well as “mopes” working shifts within the targeted location would ultimately be identified.  

Outside area surveillance teams were readily available to tail targets of opportunity that would result in the further identification of other targeted locations for drugs and/or money.

Working the case from the outside was a challenge for Gumshoe when undercover cops or controlled informants were not able to get inside the target.  

How many hours in surveillance you may ask? Routinely, from sunrise to midnight and beyond.  This surveillance would continue daily until there were sufficient articulated facts to establish probable cause to support a search warrant.

Gumshoe would go through several cans of albacore tuna, crackers, Butterfinger bars (sugar rush with a touch of caffeinated chocolate), and about a half dozen of bottle waters that did double-duty if you know what Gumshoe means.

Gumshoe had plenty of time to think.  This is when Gumshoe thought of the wooden Russian Matryoshka Dolls.  The outside of the submarine hid Gumshoe while Gumshoe appeared as an undercover repairman (who badly needed a shave, a haircut, and a shower) who concealed a narcotics detective “on the job” playing official “peekaboo” with drug-trafficking-dirt-bags.

A doll concealed within a doll within another doll as a regular guy who is a concealed Narc who was concealed within a surveillance police van that was not “Joe Plumbing & Electrical” as advertised from the outside.  Wonders never cease.

Well, folks, that’s Gumshoe’s tale from yesteryear.  Remember to always love the ones who love you and really try to love the ones who don’t.

Coram Deo!

PS:  Sonny & Rico were cool with a great music soundtrack and had amazing wheels.  No tuna for those guys!

Danny Pitocco
Danny Pitocco
RETIRED (as a Detective with the Snohomish County Sherriff’s Department, Washington State), Danny has over forty years of law enforcement experience across city, county, state and federal levels of government, including service as a Special Agent for the DEA, US Department of Justice. He’s a decorated law enforcement veteran, and recipient of the "Detective of the Year" award for Snohomish County, Danny is a certified composite artist and has testified as an expert witness in the field of narcotics and modus operandi of particular crimes in state and federal courts in California, and has given testimony before federal grand juries. Danny served four years of active duty in the US Marine Corps and loves Jesus as his personal savior.

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8 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Our surveillance van was our former paddy wagon which was no longer used. We repainted it green, and retro fitted it with two way windows, had different stick on signs that could be attached on the outside. We had a desk and chair to write our surveillance reports. It was hotter than hell in the summer and colder than a witches t– in the winter (worked in Syracuse, NY). We would from time to time do a repaint job to change the color. As you well know surveillance can be a very thankless and boring part of undercover work. It sometimes reminded me of the times in Vietnam sitting on the line at night waiting and watching for the enemy.
    It was usually manned by two members of the unit.
    Thanks again for the memory.
    Semper Fi

    • Yes indeed Tom. Long hours of sweating and patiently waiting inside the surveillance buggy normally resulted in some success. It was always up to us working bees to be created with the camouflage. The overtime pay was definitely an incentive in that crime did pay! Semper Fi my friend!

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