MARKED MAN

A profile of the maverick undercover officer who exposed widespread corruption in the New York City Police Department.

In this concise work, readers get an overview of the colorful lifestyle of Italian American Frank Serpico, who was played by Al Pacino in the 1973 movie Serpico. The authors add substantial passages from original interviews with their subject, offering clear senses of both his personal voice and his stubborn idealism; they recount how his refusal to participate in widespread payoffs as a cop in the late ’60s and early ’70s had him continually being transferred from precinct to precinct like a hot potato—until he was shot during a drug bust in what may have been a setup and forced to retire on a disability pension. What comes through loud and clear is that what finally prompted him to go to the papers with his story was his inability to get anything for his testimony but platitudes and promises from city officials. The ensuing scandal resulted in reforms and some changes in government attitudes and police culture, but those with even a tangential awareness of current events will come away agreeing with the assessment of this still-proud whistleblower (or, to use his preferred term, lamplighter) that the “blue wall of silence” and official complicity are still shielding too many injustices to preserve public confidence in the probity of our police.

Gritty and inspiring, if light on specific details.