Word: barrett
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Screenplay by JAMES LEE BARRETT, CHARLES SHYER and ALAN MANDEL
...idea comes from M.I.T. Astrophysicist Alan Barrett, who decided that the same electronic wizardry that was enabling him to tune in to microwaves from free-floating molecules in interstellar space could have a down-to-earth application. If they were reduced in size, he reasoned, the sensitive antennas could even pick up the weak microwave (or heat) emissions from a tumor...
...some men at a nearby table. They were members of the Mob. Both sides are reluctant to talk: the Mafiosi fear exposure, and the police hesitate to divulge information that might cripple prosecutions. "Occasionally, a criminal thinks the reporter will be a future help and comes to us," says Barrett...
...primary sources are court records and the people on the right side of the law." Even interviews with the good guys can be delicate. Barrett recalls an organized-crime investigator who suggested dinner at a well-known gangster hangout, explaining, "That's the kind of place where people make a very serious effort not to hear what's being said at the next table. It's safer to be deaf...
...some new perceptions of the Mafia. Says Tompkins: "The morality of the Mob is somewhat closer to the morality of the average American citizen than it used to be. The Mafiosi always said they were no more corrupt than anyone else, and today more and more people might agree." Barrett notes some disturbing reasons for the Mafia's increasing success: "The public is a willing victim of organized crime-buying black-market cigarettes and participating in illegal gambling. It's also difficult for people to think of some racketeer-who lives in a nice house, has a nice...