Frank serpico was a man who couldnt be silenced or bought and he refused to go along with the system. Former nypd detective frank serpico reflects on knapp. Serpico is a fine true crime retelling of the story of frank serpico detective nypd, retired who battled against endemic corruption among new yorks finest in the 1960s. Serpico is based on a true story about the renegade police officer frank paco serpico. Serpico is an interesting and well written book about the struggles frank serpico faced while trying to be an honest cop among the corrupt practices which were. Both maass book and the film cover 12 years, 1960 to 1972. On february 3, 1971, we got the shocking news that frank serpico had been shot. This book is a well written account of this mans life and career. The frank serpiconypd case study provides an alarming account of systemic corruption.
Naide 032614 the reason i chose serpico is because i thought this book would talk about a cop trying to do the right thing, which was to change the crooked system that allowed corruption this nonfiction talks about the criminality that takes place in this book. Judging from his new doc frank serpico, antonino dambrosio mostly shares that rosy view, emphasizing the courage and idealism required for the eponymous policeman to. This is a closer look at the story of officer frank serpico and the knapp commission. Frank serpico was a former new york police department nypd detective who gained notoriety in the early 1970s by exposing systematic corruption in the new york police department. But serpico was fortunate in that the target of his revelations was a police department, an organization which it was then and is. People outside new york city might not immediately know the name of frank serpico.
It stuck close to the 1973 peter maas book, and frank serpico reveals just how much of serpicos story became, through the movie, iconic. Take heed then the knapp commission, jay kriegel, patrick murphy, police corruption in every shape and form. Greene writes, new york city was enduring an increase in the illegal street narcotics trade mainly of heroin that led to new opportunities for corruption. Serpico slumped in back seat, held by cop in front seat. And if you arent familiar with the film, its based on the reallife story of frank serpico, whose life. The book is cocked, and there is stress creasing on the spine. So says frustrated new york policeman frank serpico in the fact based drama cop drama serpico 1973. Frank serpico, who helped uncover wrongdoing by the new york police decades ago, is at odds with a neighbor over property overlooking the hudson. The history of new york scandals frank serpico and the. Serpico by peter maas meet your next favorite book. If this were true, of course, it would have greatly eased our data collection task.
His other notable bestsellers include the valachi papers, serpico, manhunt, and in a childs name. Frank serpico was the first officer to expose corruption inside the new york city police department. New york, viking press 1973 dlc 72079002 ocolc621098. Adapted by waldo salt and norman wexler from peter maass book sidney lumets drama portrays the reallife struggle of an honest new york city cop against a corrupt system. Peter maas, who brought us the valachi papers, has written a satisfying but somewhat lightweight recounting of the facts and circumstances of serpicos career. Garrett, jim i like to perform my duty the way it was meant to be performed. Later, he starts to work as an undercover cop who busts all sorts of criminals, but mostly drug dealers and pushers. Maas is the author of the valachi papers, the story of the mafia soldier who turned informant, and serpico, a book on frank serpico, the former detective who played a key role in. New york police detective third grade frank serpico was unique, according to. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For years a culture of corruption had pervaded the new york city policeit is the late sixties, a time of intense social and generational upheaval into this maelstrom came a man who broke the mold a working class, brooklyn born,italian. A culture of corruption pervaded the new york police department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common. His dilemma transcended the confines of the station house and will have resonance for older teens and adults who find his story and this film both relatable and admirable.
After military service, he worked parttime and attended college, joining the new york city police department at the age of twentythree. The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the. Frank serpico is a young, inexperienced cop who starts out on patrol. His image, based on how others look on him, shows him as just a hippie and. The film and principals were nominated for numerous.
Frank serpico is a mature film, about a fascinating man made only more so by his time away from new york and the controversy that engulfed him. Peter maas, frank serpico the 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of new york city. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the united states army and was stationed for two years in south korea as an infantryman. Though frank serpico paid a terrible price for his honesty, this book and the sidney lumet movie based on it did portray him as a hero, which he undeniably is. Frank serpico was a ny cop who not only refused to participate in corruption, but took measures to expose it and root it out, risking his life in the process. Taking place from 1960 to 1972, this film adaptation tells the story, as revealed by reallife new york city police officer, frank serpico of police corruption among his colleagues. The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of new york city. An article about frank serpico by larry mcshane, 2012, new. For this unwavering commitment to justice, serpico nearly paid with his life. Browse inside serpico, by peter maas, frank serpico, a trade paperback from perennial, an imprint of harpercollins publishers. Oh well better late than never even five years later. Serpico is a 1973 american neonoir biographical crime film directed by sidney lumet, and starring al pacino. Serpico, son of an italian immigrant, was reared in brooklyn, newyork and entered the nypd in 1959 as an idealistic young officer seeking a seemingly respectable. Serpico was born in brooklyn, new york city, the youngest child of vincenzo and maria giovanna serpico, italian immigrants from marigliano, naples, campania.
Francesco vincent serpico born april 14, 1936 is a former new york city police department. Frank serpico was a man who couldn t be silenced or bought. Frank serpico al pacino is an idealistic new york city cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. Various other biographies and peter maas was an american journalist and author born of dutch and irish ancestry in new york city, new york state usa on 27 june 1929. Retired nypd officer who gained fame for exposing police corruption in the 1960s and early 1970s, for which he was shot and nearly killed. Join facebook to connect with frank serpico and others you may know. Source book for the academy award film of the same title that starred al pacino. Frank serpico was an outsider in company that followed a code of protecting the police brotherhood at all costs. First edition, first printing of this dramatic biography of whistling blowing new york police officer frank serpico. His struggles ultimately led to the knapp commission and reforms at the nypd, and set the stage for ethical reforms in policing across america. As it turns out, the legend and the truth match up.
By now al pacinos performance in serpico is something that if youre not familiar with it, youre familiar with the serpico name being dropped into a lot of pop culture in the decades since. A culture of corruption pervaded the new york police department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. Frank serpico was the new york cop who blew the whistle on police. Serpico by peter maas and a great selection of related. Since serpico is a young man living in the 1960s and early 1970s, he lives as one. Francesco vincent serpico born april 14, 1936 is a retired american new york city police department nypd police who is most famous for testifying against police corruption in 1971. Frank serpico was born april 14, 1936 to two hardworking and highly principled italian immigrants proudly making their way in the new world. He then worked as a parttime private investigator and a youth counselor while attending brooklyn college. Having joined the force in 1959, serpico worked dedicatedly for 12 years, constantly dealing with the burden of knowing that a large part of the police force was dirty. Frank serpico speaks, in a new documentary about the.
Secret story of frank costello that was almost written. Being seen as a bit eccentric by his colleagues he is very quickly cast out. Frank serpico lies slumped, half conscious, in the back. The legend has it, when al pacino asked frank serpico why he had blown the whistle on new york police corruption, serpico replied, if i didnt, who would i be when i listened to a piece of music. Waldo salt and norman wexler wrote the screenplay, adapting peter maass biography of nypd officer frank serpico, who went undercover to expose corruption in the police force. His actions get frank shunned by the other officers, and often placed in. Serpico is an interesting and well written book about the struggles frank serpico faced while trying to be an honest cop among the corrupt practices which were ongoing at the time in new york city. Neophyte officer frank serpico al pacino is determined not to let his job get in the way of his individuality. In his book, the encyclopedia of police science, jack r. Read online ebook or kindle epub peter maass is the author of the number one new york times bestseller underboss. This chapter explores the details surrounding serpicos nypd career and his role exposing nypd police corruption in the 1970.
Francesco vincent serpico citation needed is a former new york city police. As portrayed by al pacino, serpico is the resident nonconformist in the working class new york police department, a collegeeducated street cop with counterculture tendencies, an increasingly shaggy appearance the clean. Constantly being transferred from multiple precincts of the new york police department he begins to realize that modern day policing isnt what it is all cracked up to be. Its incredible but i feel like a criminal because i dont take money. The novelisation of a film set in the 1970s, which tells of how patrolman frank serpico spent five lonely years, despite threats from his fellow officers, fighting a fruitless battle against police corruption, until finally, in despair and frustration, he decided to take the final step. He is also at odds with his colleagues because he has something of a hippie appearance and lives in a bohemian neighborhood. Frank serpico was the new york cop who blew the whistle on police corruption, survived an assassination attempt and was played by al pacino. In this book, serpico, maas wrote the biography of frank serpico who was a new york police officer who witnessed and testified against corruption in the police service. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book.
332 191 591 557 423 349 98 1141 526 1562 1485 423 896 387 1217 254 1164 457 851 1471 769 917 174 1462 1178 416 1108 731 1414 1285