Prince of the City

this is an incredible story and one man's struggle as a police officer with the NYPD during the 1960s and early 70s trying to be an honest cop but was surrounded by corrupt cops, lawyers, district attorneys, bails bondsmen, and judges - everyone was on the take - but in the end he was courageous to come forward and work with the different departments of law enforcement to expose the corruption; saw the movie first but had to read the book in order to really understand this story. highly recommend this book - also Bob Leuci many years later before his death wrote his own story called "All the Centurions - a very good follow up to Prince of the City and recommend that if you enjoy Prince of the City you will enjoy Bob Leuci's book

How can anyone feel any sympathy for Leuci, the protagonist in this book? If you or I committed the crimes he committed we would never see the light of day. Prosecutorial discretion is the poison pill of the American Justice system. Nevertheless this is real literature by a good author and interesting thought provoking material.

This is a dazzling work of nonfiction that traces the story of Robert Leuci, a young detective with the New York City Police Department who came to a crossroads in his life and found himself confronted with whom he had become and, apparently, did not like what he saw. As a team leader in the elite and now defunct Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of the Narcotics division during the late nineteen sixties and early seventies, Leuci was involved in many large narcotics takedowns and, consequently, the corruption that then often ensued.In early 1971, Leuci was called to appear before the Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption, which was known as the Knapp Commission. Although the commission had no evidence of wrongdoing by Leuci, it had called him in to ask about some of the detectives that he had worked with in SIU. Leuci, at the time, refused to give up his fellow officers, claiming that the whole criminal justice arena, including the lawyers and the courts, were corrupt. Leuci was interviewed by Nicholas Scoppetta, a former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney with the Knapp Commission (and now the current New York City Fire Department Commissioner). After interviewing him, Scoppetta decided to leave the Knapp Commission and persuaded the federal government to undertake a probe into the entire criminal justice system of New York City with Detective Robert Leuci as its linchpin, an investigation that the federal government agreed to undertake.The book details Detective's Leuci's personal exploits, as he fearlessly helped the federal government make its cases against lawyers, bail bondsmen, and other cops. For years, Leuci walked a fine line, continuing his work as a NYPD detective while working as a confidential informant for the feds, often at great risk to his life. The details of his exploits are riveting, as they expose the seamy side of a criminal justice system that, at the time, was truly corrupt at so many levels. Moreover, Leuci's personal angst in trying to keep his detective friends from becoming embroiled in the investigation is palpable throughout the book, as is Leuci's innate sense of fair play.Leuci himself had previously been on the take, a fact of which the feds were aware. It was the extent to which Leuci had been on the take that the Feds were unaware. Leuci's perfidy was not revealed in its entirety until the government had made many arrests, grand juries had handed down indictments, and defendants had been tried and convicted. Leuci had worked with Rudolf Giuliani, who was then a young Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of the State of New York. It was to Giuliani that Leuci eventually unburdened himself. I have to commend Giuliani for the compassion that he extended to Leuci, a man who was clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown after leading a double life for years and who, for so long, had internalized his anxiety over his own and his friends' involvement in the corruption that was at the heart of the investigation.This is a well-written and moving true story of a cop who knew too much and was eventually made to sing. This is a great book upon which the wonderful, gritty film, "Prince of the City", starring Treat Williams, was based. Those who are interested in the criminal justice arena or are cop buffs will especially enjoy this book, as well as the film. Bravo!

i know this is a 40 yr. old book but a very good rating is not accurate. this book fell apart immediatly upon opening it and reading it. i bought as a reader and i have it taped up but an acceptable would have been a better rating. maybe even poor condition! i have paperback copies of books that are even older and they are holding up just fine even after reading! even for $8.00 bucks a poor copy!

This book is an easy to read, step by step account of a sorid time in the NYPD. Anyone who wants to learn about the dangers of police work should read this. The book is better than the movie. Read the book, than see the movie.

But I do think his flipping on his friends was to save his own skin, and he did so with purposeful forethought.

A very realistic novel about cops' lives.Nothing in this book is white or black, good or wrong, instead everything is about making hard choices and accept their conse-quences or simply said living with them.

Good

Love this bookIt's a racy account of police life in 70`s NYCcorruption drugs guns deals mafia the whole melting potFamiliar names crop up in the text and the fragile macho psyche of that era is well documented throughout