in an intent to explain his work as fbi mob informant in the '80s, al sharpton claimed he turned into a rat after, after, his life was threatened by wise guys. >> my life was threatened by people who claimed to be mobsters. a guy who calls himself sal actually flew to new york from l.a. and said that if i didn't stop interfering they would kill me. i contacted the fbi, even though i had recent run-ins in a separate boxing investigation. my call led to my cooperating with the fbi against those mob guys. >> but the smoking gun may have blown his cover. the new report suggests sharpton was afraid he could face criminal charges so he chose the path of self-preservation. the report says sharpton was flipped by the fbi agents after agents confronted him about this