Former FBI agent indicted in connection with mafia killings

A former FBI agent whose reputation was considered unimpeachable by colleagues was indicted today on murder charges for allegedly providing inside information to a Mafia figure, who then ordering the killings.

R Lindley DeVecchio co-operated with Gregory Scarpa Jr, a captain in the Colombo crime family, between 1987 and 1992, said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J Hynes.

Among the alleged victims was the daughter of a former top-ranking family official, authorities said.

Others included a suspected mob informant, a mobster targeted during a battle for control of the family, and a Colombo soldier considered a problem after he became a born-again Christian, Hynes said.

DeVecchio, 65, was expected to be arraigned later today at state Supreme Court on four counts of second-degree murder.

Supporters of the now-retired FBI agent said allegations that he traded deadly secrets with the mob are unimaginable.