Robert Daley is one of post prolific – and most accurate – writers about the NYPD. As an author he is unusual as he has written an almost equal number of fiction books as non-fiction. What he brings to the table when he writes about the NYPD is that he served in the department during one of the most tumultuous times in its history. In the early 1970’s Daley was the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information and a close advisor to Police Commissioner Patrick V. Murphy.
A few weeks ago, we reviewed his book Target Blue which recounted his personal experiences and some of the events surrounding his time “on the job”. This weekend we want to tackle another of his more famous works in Prince of the City: The True Story of a Cop Who Knew Too Much (1978). As many know, this book was turned into a movie of the same name by director Sidney Lumet in 1981. The movie does the book justice, but nothing can explore the depths of a story like a good author.
And Daley is a good author. He worked with the subject of the book, corrupt detective turned cooperator Robert Leuci. Leuci provided full access to his personal recollections, deep emotions, and insider information to bring life to the book. They spent hundreds of hours discussing Leuci’s entire story: his early career, the culture of the SIU, how corruption developed, his decision to cooperate, and the heartbreaking aftermath. Daley used the close relationship that they developed to bring a level of emotion to this book that is rare in this genre.
Daley complemented Leuci’s story with a great deal of his own work, in fact checking, adding perspective, and gathering more facts. When Daley decided to write Prince of the City, he was granted unprecedented access by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and by federal investigators who had handled the Leuci case. He reviewed court records, wiretap transcripts, Internal Affairs Division reports, Grand Jury testimony, and Prosecutor notes to nail down the facts.
He also spent 3 years conducting interviews with other cops, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and perps to get the full picture of the scandal surrounding Leuci and the Special Investigations Unit and how, with the help of Leuci himself, the scandal was brought into the full light of the justice system.
What makes Prince of the City a fantastic read is this combination of investigative journalism fused with insider access. Daley didn’t fictionalize events - he dramatized real ones with literary structure and dialogue drawn from actual statements and recollections. This is a true story and a fascinating and gut-wrenching account of a detective who got in way over his head – with tragic results.
Prince of the City is about 325 easy to read pages. You won’t be able to put it down. It combines vast knowledge with fantastic storytelling and painful emotion. You can buy a used copy on Amazon for about $7. This is a must read for any cop and a fantastic insider look at the bad old days of the NYPD for any interested in policing.
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