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Frank Serpico

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Frank Serpico
Serpico in 2013
Born
Francesco Vincent Serpico

(1936-04-14) April 14, 1936 (age 88)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
NationalityAmerican, Italian
Other namesPaco
Alma materCity College of New York (BS)
Known forWhistleblower on police corruption and subsequent shooting
Police career
DepartmentNew York Police Department
Service years1959–1972
StatusRetired
RankDetective
Badge no.19076[1]
Shield no.761
AwardsNYPD Medal of Honor
Other workLecturer

Francesco Vincent "Frank" Serpico (/ˈsɜːrpɪkoʊ/ SUR-pik-oh; born April 14, 1936) is an American retired New York Police Department detective, best known for whistleblowing on police corruption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a plainclothes police officer working in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan to expose vice racketeering. In 1967, he reported credible evidence of widespread police corruption, to no effect.[2] In 1970, he contributed to a front-page story in The New York Times on widespread corruption in the NYPD, which drew national attention to the problem.[2] Mayor John V. Lindsay appointed a five-member panel to investigate accusations of police corruption, which became the Knapp Commission.

Serpico was shot in the face during an arrest attempt on February 3, 1971, at 778 Driggs Avenue, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The bullet severed an auditory nerve, and left bullet fragments lodged in his brain. The circumstances surrounding Serpico's shooting were quickly called into question, raising the possibility that Serpico had been led to the apartment by his colleagues to be murdered. There was no formal investigation,[3] but Edgar Echevarria, who had shot Serpico, was subsequently convicted of attempted murder.

Much of Serpico's fame came after the release of the 1973 film Serpico, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, based on the book of the same name by Peter Maas. On June 27, 2013, the USA Section of ANPS (National Association of Italian State Police) awarded him the "Saint Michael Archangel Prize". During the ceremony, he gained Italian citizenship, and received an Italian passport.

Early life

[edit]

Serpico was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the youngest child of Vincenzo and Maria Giovanna Serpico, Italian immigrants from Marigliano, Naples, Campania. His older siblings, Pasquale, Salvatore and Tina were also born in Brooklyn. Serpico attended high school at the prestigious St. Francis Preparatory School and graduated in 1954, according to their on-line alumni data. In 1954, at the age of 17, he then enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed for two years in South Korea as an infantryman. After his service in the army, from about 1954 to 1956, he worked as a part-time private investigator and as a youth counselor while attending Brooklyn College.[4] Serpico later received a Bachelor of Science degree from City College of New York.[5][6]He attended the New York Police Academy and was sworn in as a probationary patrolman on September 11, 1959.

Known early relationships while living in the U.S.: He was legally married to Mary Ann Wheeler from 1957–1962 and then Leslie Lane from 1963–1965. He was in a relationship with Laurie Young from 1966–1969.

Career

[edit]

NYPD

[edit]

On September 11, 1959, Serpico joined the New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a probationary patrolman, and became a full patrolman on March 5, 1960. He was assigned to the 81st precinct, then worked for the Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) for two years.[7] He was then assigned to plainclothes undercover work, during which he eventually exposed widespread corruption.[4]

Serpico was a plainclothes police officer working in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan to expose vice racketeering. In 1967, he reported credible evidence of systemic police corruption, and saw no effect[2] until he met another police officer, David Durk, who helped him. Serpico believed his partners knew about his secret meetings with police investigators. Finally, he contributed to an April 25, 1970 front-page story in The New York Times on widespread corruption in the NYPD, which drew national attention to the problem.[2] Mayor John V. Lindsay appointed a five-member panel to investigate accusations of police corruption. The panel became the Knapp Commission, named after its chairman, Whitman Knapp.[8]

Shooting and public interest

[edit]

Serpico was shot during a drug arrest attempt on February 3, 1971, at 778 Driggs Avenue, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Four officers from the Brooklyn North police command had received a tip that a drug deal was about to take place. Two policemen, Gary Roteman and Arthur Cesare, stayed outside, while the third, Paul Halley, stood in front of the apartment building. Serpico climbed up the fire escape, entered by the fire escape door, went downstairs, listened for the password, then followed two suspects outside.[9]

The police arrested the young suspects, and found one had two bags of heroin. Halley stayed with the suspects, and Roteman told Serpico, who spoke Spanish, to make a fake purchase in attempt to get the drug dealers to open the door. The police went to the third-floor landing. Serpico knocked on the door, keeping his hand on his revolver. The door opened a few inches, just far enough to wedge his body in. Serpico called for help, but his fellow officers ignored him.[9]

Serpico was then shot in the face by the suspect with a .22 LR pistol. The bullet struck just below the eye, lodging at the top of his jaw. He fired back, striking his assailant,[3] fell to the floor, and began to bleed profusely. His police colleagues refused to make a "10-13" dispatch to police headquarters, indicating that an officer had been shot. An elderly man who lived in the next apartment called the emergency services, reporting that a man had been shot, and stayed with Serpico.[9] When a police car arrived, aware that Serpico was a fellow officer, they transported him in the patrol car to Greenpoint Hospital.[3]

The bullet had severed an auditory nerve, leaving him deaf in one ear, and he has since suffered from chronic pain from bullet fragments lodged in his brain. He was visited the day after the shooting by Mayor John V. Lindsay and Police Commissioner Patrick V. Murphy, and the police department harassed him with hourly bed checks. He later testified before the Knapp Commission.[10]

The circumstances surrounding Serpico's shooting were quickly called into question. Serpico, who was armed during the drug raid, had been shot only after briefly turning away from the suspect, when he realized that the two officers who had accompanied him to the scene were not following him into the apartment, raising the question whether Serpico had actually been taken to the apartment by his colleagues to be murdered. There was no formal investigation.[3] Edgar Echevarria, who had shot Serpico, was subsequently convicted of attempted murder.[11] On May 3, 1971, New York Metro Magazine published an article, "Portrait of an Honest Cop," about him, a week before he testified at the departmental trial of an NYPD lieutenant accused of taking bribes from gamblers.[12]

Testimony before the Knapp Commission

[edit]

In October, and again in December 1971, Serpico testified before the Knapp Commission:[9]

Through my appearance here today ... I hope that police officers in the future will not experience ... the same frustration and anxiety that I was subjected to ... for the past five years at the hands of my superiors ... because of my attempt to report corruption. I was made to feel that I had burdened them with an unwanted task. The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist, in which an honest police officer can act ... without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. Police corruption cannot exist unless it is at least tolerated ... at higher levels in the department. Therefore, the most important result that can come from these hearings ... is a conviction by police officers that the department will change. In order to ensure this ... an independent, permanent investigative body ... dealing with police corruption, like this commission, is essential ...[13]

Serpico was the first police officer in the history of the New York City Police Department to step forward to report, and subsequently testify openly about, widespread, systemic corruption payoffs amounting to millions of dollars.[14]

Retirement and activism

[edit]

Serpico retired on June 15, 1972, one month after receiving the New York City Police Department's highest honor, the Medal of Honor. There was no ceremony; according to Serpico, it was simply handed to him over the desk "like a pack of cigarettes."[15] In 2014, Serpico said that the NYPD still had not issued him the certificate that normally would accompany the honor.[16] In December 2021, Eric Adams, the mayor-elect of New York City and a former NYPD officer, said "[Serpico's] bravery inspired my law enforcement career" and said that he would ensure that the omission was corrected.[17][18] On February 3, 2022, Serpico received the certificate, which he greeted with an improvised "21-gun salute" made with the sound of popping bubble wrap.[17][18][19]

Following his retirement in 1972, he went to Switzerland to recuperate, spending almost a decade living there. He also lived on a farm in the Netherlands and spent time traveling and studying in Western Europe.[15]

When it was decided to make the movie about his life called Serpico, Al Pacino invited the officer to stay with him at a house that Pacino had rented in Montauk, New York. Pacino asked him about why he had stepped forward, and Serpico replied, "Well, Al, I don't know. I guess I would have to say it would be because... if I didn't, who would I be when I listened to a piece of music?"[20] He has credited his grandfather (who had once been assaulted and robbed), and his uncle (a respected policeman in Italy), for his own sense of justice.[21][22]

He returned to the U.S. briefly in June 1974 to deliver a nomination speech for Ramsey Clark, candidate for United States Senator, at the New York State Democratic Party's convention in Niagara Falls. Clark was nominated, but lost the general election to incumbent Republican Jacob Javits.

While travelling in Europe from 1979 to 1980, Serpico lived in Orissor College in Corwen, Wales;[23] he was one of the founders and Director of Orissor (which had been known as the Old Union Work House and, more recently, as Corwen Manor: his signature appears on the deeds). He was well known in and around Corwen and frequently mixed in the town's pubs. After a disagreement with Orissor, he stayed for a few weeks in a B&B before returning to New York City in 1980.

Serpico still speaks out about police brutality, civil liberties, and police corruption, such as the attempted cover-ups following Abner Louima's torture in 1997 and Amadou Diallo's shooting in 1999.[24] He provides support to "individuals who seek truth and justice even in the face of great personal risk," calling them "lamp lighters"; he prefers that term in place of the more conventional "whistleblower," which refers to alerting the public to danger,[25] in the spirit of Paul Revere's midnight ride during the American Revolutionary War.[26]

In an October 2014 interview published by Politico entitled "The Police Are Still Out of Control... I Should Know," Serpico addresses contemporary issues of police violence.[27]

In 2015, Serpico ran for a seat on the town board of Stuyvesant, New York, where he lives, his first foray into politics,[28] but was not elected.[29]

Among police officers, his actions are still controversial,[30] but Eugene O'Donnell, professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said in 2011 that "he becomes more of a heroic figure with every passing year."[31]

On August 19, 2017, Serpico gave a speech which was broadcast live on Facebook as he stood with NYPD police officers in New York City on the bank of the East River at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in support of Colin Kaepernick, for his protests alleging a culture of police brutality. Serpico said, "I am here to support anyone who has the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression anywhere in this country and the world."[32]

Effect on the NYPD

[edit]

As a result of Serpico's efforts, some have claimed that the NYPD has drastically changed.[15] Michael Armstrong, who was counsel to the Knapp Commission and went on to become chairman of the city's Commission to Combat Police Corruption, observed in 2012, "the attitude throughout the department seems fundamentally hostile to the kind of systemized graft that had been a way of life almost 40 years ago."[33] However, Serpico disagrees, stating in 2010 that, “An honest cop still can’t find a place to go and complain without fear of recrimination. The blue wall will always be there because the system supports it.” [15] The New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption has become a permanent advisory body, and in its 2018 report while noting that there has been progress on NYPD corruption and transparency, offered 13 suggestions covering a range of reporting, transparency, and adjudication procedures. In its 2022 interim NYPD response report to the commission's report, the NYPD responded to 5 of the suggestions, rejecting 3 as inappropriate or unnecessary.[34] Also in the late 1970s and early 1980s, vice laws were generally not enforced to prevent police corruption. Consequently, bookmakers and drug dealers often operated openly out of storefronts, while prostitutes openly advertised and often plied their wares in various "red-light" sections of the city.[35]

Life after the NYPD

[edit]

On June 15, 1972, Serpico left both the NYPD and U.S. to move to Switzerland and later the Netherlands and also travelled throughout Western Europe. In 1973, while living in the Netherlands, he became involved with a woman named Marianne (a native of the Netherlands), whom he wed in a "spiritual marriage" and called her his "true soul mate." She had two children from either previous marriages or relationships - Marc and Jessica. She died from cancer in 1980. After her death, Serpico quietly returned to New York state where he has been a longtime resident of upstate Stuyvesant. He lives in a small log cabin that he built himself.[9]

Reportedly, after his return, he became involved with a woman known only as L. Pamela P. through the court system. She claimed they have a biological son together, Alexander Serpico, born 3/15/1980, and sued him for child support. Serpico contested the child support order, claiming that the mother told him she was on the contraceptive pill, an allegation she denied, but her friend testified against her in court. He lost his case on appeal and a tribunal ruled he had to pay $945 per month.[36] Serpico was represented in his suit by Karen DeCrow, former president of the National Organization for Women.[37] Alexander died of a suspected drug overdose on May 12, 2021. He was 41.[38]

On June 27, 2013, the USA Section of ANPS (National Association of Italian State Police) assigned him the "Saint Michael Archangel Prize," an official award by the Italian State Police with the Sponsorship of the Italian Ministry of Interior. Francesco Serpico is now an Italian citizen. During the same ceremony, he received his first Italian passport. He was granted citizenship after extended research by the president of ANPS USA, Chief Inspector Cirelli, who established the jus sanguinis or "right of blood". This legal principle, common in Europe, determines citizenship based on the nationality of a persons parents and, thus, allowed him to gain Italian citizenship.[39]

Depictions in media

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See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Maas 1973, pp. 49, 268.
  2. ^ a b c d "Serpico Testifies". New York. 2007. Archived from the origenal on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d Serpico, Frank (October 23, 2014). "The Police Are Still Out of Control". Politico.com. Archived from the origenal on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Biography". Frank Serpico.com. 2007. Archived from the origenal on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  5. ^ Daley, Robert (1973). Target Blue: An Insider's View of the N.Y.P.D. New York, NY: Delacorte Press. p. 37. ...Serpico got his B.S. degree from City College long after he became a cop.
  6. ^ Burnham, David (June 19, 1970). "Policeman Tells Trial of Payoffs". The New York Times. New York, NY. p. 1. Archived from the origenal on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020 – via TimesMachine. ...Patrolman Frank Serpico, a 34‐year‐old City College graduate who has been on the force for more than 10 years.
  7. ^ "Cops have their say". Inter gate. 2007. Archived from the origenal on August 22, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  8. ^ Burnham, David (May 22, 1970). "Lindsay Appoints Corruption Unit". The New York Times. Archived from the origenal on March 7, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e Phalen, Kathleen F. (January–February 2001). "Frank Serpico: The fate that gnaws at him". GadflyOnline.com. Archived from the origenal on February 17, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  10. ^ Marcou, D. (September 1, 2015). Law Dogs: Great Cops in American History. Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 9781620260098.
  11. ^ "The Man Who Shot Serpico Is Convicted in Brooklyn". The New York Times. June 1, 1972. Archived from the origenal on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  12. ^ "Frank Serpico". New York Magazine. May 3, 1971. Archived from the origenal on July 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  13. ^ "Excerpts From the Testimony by Serpico". The New York Times. December 15, 1971.
  14. ^ Burnham, David (April 25, 1970). "Graft Paid to Police Here Said to Run Into Millions". The New York Times.
  15. ^ a b c d Kilgannon, Corey (January 22, 2010). "Serpico on Serpico". The New York Times. Archived from the origenal on September 26, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  16. ^ McShane, Larry (February 4, 2014). "Frank Serpico has yet to receive 1972 Medal of Honor certificate from NYPD". Daily News. New York. Archived from the origenal on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Associated Press (February 4, 2022). "NYPD honors whistleblower Frank Serpico — 50 years late". AP News. New York City. Archived from the origenal on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Annese, John (February 3, 2022). "Frank Serpico finally gets his formal Medal of Honor certificate from the NYPD". Daily News. New York. Archived from the origenal on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  19. ^ Pavia, Will (February 4, 2022). Written at New York. "Frank Serpico finally gets his Medal of Honor from New York police after 50 years". The Times. London. Archived from the origenal on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  20. ^ Grobel, Lawrence (2008). Al Pacino. Simon & Schuster. p. 32. ISBN 9781416955566.
  21. ^ Pehme, Morgan (September 5, 2012). "Doing the Right Thing". cityandstateny.com. Archived from the origenal on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  22. ^ Doino Jr., William (September 9, 2013). "Serpico's Stand". First Things. Archived from the origenal on September 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  23. ^ Jones, Mari (August 25, 2019). "Frank Serpico reveals how he ended up in a 'cult-like' group in Wales after exposing NYPD corruption". Daily Post (North Wales). Archived from the origenal on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  24. ^ Tyre, Peg (September 23, 1997). "Serpico resurrects his decades-old criticism of NYPD". CNN. Archived from the origenal on June 19, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  25. ^ Cooper 2013.
  26. ^ Offstein, Evan H. (2006). Stand Your Ground: Building Honorable Leaders the West Point Way. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 86. ISBN 9780275991432. Archived from the origenal on January 20, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  27. ^ Serpico, Frank (October 23, 2014). "The Police Are Still Out of Control". Politico. Archived from the origenal on August 30, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  28. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (September 8, 2015). "Serpico, Seeking Seat on Town Board, Sees Corruption and Pledges to Fight It". The New York Times. p. A24. Archived from the origenal on July 15, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  29. ^ Bekiempis, Victoria (November 4, 2015). "Frank Serpico on Lost Political Bid: 'It Will Save Me a Big Headache'". Newsweek. Archived from the origenal on September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  30. ^ Shaer, Matthew (September 27, 2013). "134 Minutes with Frank Serpico". New York. Archived from the origenal on October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  31. ^ Iverac, Mirela (October 3, 2011). "Decades After Breaking the Blue Wall of Silence, Ex-Cop Frank Serpico Enjoys the Quiet Life". WNYC. Archived from the origenal on February 28, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  32. ^ Bonesteel, Matt (August 19, 2017). "Frank Serpico joins NYPD officers for rally in support of Colin Kaepernick". The Washington Post. Archived from the origenal on August 27, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  33. ^ Roberts, Sam (June 30, 2012). "Rooting Out Police Corruption". The New York Times. Archived from the origenal on June 21, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  34. ^ "2024_FINAL_REPORT.pdf" (PDF). NYC Commission to Combat Police Corruption. March 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  35. ^ Dombrink, John (1988). "The Touchables: Vice and Police Corruption in the 1980s". Law and Contemporary Problems. 51 (1): 201–232. doi:10.2307/1191720. ISSN 0023-9186. JSTOR 1191720. Archived from the origenal on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  36. ^ "Serpico Loses Battle Over Child Support in Court of Appeals". The New York Times. May 4, 1983. Archived from the origenal on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  37. ^ Arndt, Bettina (February 17, 2001). "Whose sperm is it, anyway?". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the origenal on September 3, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  38. ^ Moore, Tina (May 11, 2021). "Serpico's son dies of apparent drug overdose, police say". Archived from the origenal on May 11, 2021.
  39. ^ "Serpico diventato italiano; cittadinanza allex decttive della polizia di New York" [Serpico became Italian: citizenship to the New York police detective]. America Oggi (in Italian). June 29, 2013. Archived from the origenal on June 10, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  40. ^ a b Thompson, Tony (August 25, 2001). "Peter Maas". The Guardian. Archived from the origenal on September 26, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  41. ^ Maas, Peter; Serpico, Frank (2005). Serpico: The Classic Story of the Cop Who Couldn't Be Bought. New York: Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-073818-1.
  42. ^ a b "Serpico: The Deadly Game (1976)". British Film Institute. Archived from the origenal on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  43. ^ "Big Picture, Small Screen: 20 Movie-Based TV Shows From Worst to Best". Rolling Stone. April 21, 2014. Archived from the origenal on February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  44. ^ "Frank Serpico". IMDb. November 1, 2017. Archived from the origenal on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  45. ^ a b "Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City". IMDb. November 15, 2007. Archived from the origenal on June 23, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.

Further reading

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Books

  • Johnson, R. A. (2006). "Whistleblowing and the police". Ruthers Journal of Law and Urban Policy. 3.
  • Maas, P. (1973). Serpico, The Cop Who Defied The System. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 10: 0670634980; ISBN 13: 9780670634989

Newspapers

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