James P. Mallon Jr., a retired FBI special agent who helped crack down on organized crime, died after a battle with cancer on Friday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Mallon was working in Detroit when the FBI tapped him to work in the Organized Crime program in Atlantic City, where he shined.
Mallon “was very instrumental in helping set up an FBI undercover operation that resulted in the indictment and conviction of former Atlantic City Mayor Michael Matthews,” in 1984.
Mallon was born in Philadelphia and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. After college, he initially worked as a certified public accountant.
Mallon’s career as an FBI special agent began in 1972. He worked in offices in Buffalo, Newark and Detroit.