17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!! Finally, the WHOLE TRUTH about NYPD Brass, December 18, 2003
This review is from: The Brass Wall: The Betrayal of Undercover Detective #4126 (Hardcover)
On its surface, this book is simply one hell of a read. It's a gripping real-life thriller about Vincent Armanti, a star undercover detective who gets sold out by his own department. It's full of fascinating characters, death-defying plot twists and the writing is so vivid that it hooks you from the first page...the first sentence!... and won't let go.
But I worked in the NYPD's disciplinary system when this case was being (mis)handled by the bosses, so I know firsthand that it is much more. The Brass Wall is also an expose that reveals more about the secret dealings of the Department and City politics than anything I've ever read. Despite the thousands of heroic cops who risk their lives every day, the upper ranks of the NYPD are full of small-minded political yes-men whose main concerns are advancing their careers and covering up for their friends' screw-ups. It's the same "CYA" attitude you find in corporate America or any bureacracy, but with one big difference: when bad cops are left on the force, honest people are endangered.
That's what happened in this case. Police commanders closed ranks to cover up for a dirty cop who had leaked information to the mob. But as it was happening, those of us in the Department's Special Prosecutor's Office figured that even the bosses couldn't actually get away with this one. The dirty cop risked the life of all these honest officers, so surely the Police Commissioner and the union would demand that he be fired before he could endanger anyone else. The dirty cop's leaks also led to the apparent murder of a confidential informant, so certainly Mayor Giuliani and the United States Attorney would demand that he face criminal charges. Wouldn't they?
But the Good Ol' Boys of the NYPD protected the dirty cop because his father was a police department commander himself. In Internal Affairs, of all places! And it wasn't until I read this book that I learned what those of us in Police Headquarters had always suspected, that the reason for the cover-up was juicy and breathtakingly petty: the corrupt cop's father had dirt on one of the big chiefs.
It's unfortunate that this wasn't published until Giuliani and Police Commissioners William Bratton and Howard Safir had already left. They owe the police officers, and the city, an explanation. Still, it should be required reading for anyone interested in entering law enforcement, to warn young cops what they face out there. If you want to learn how the city really works -- and be inspired by the way a courageous undercover like Vincent Armanti stood up to all the politicos and cowards -- this book is stunning.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where Is The Outrage?, June 9, 2004
This review is from: The Brass Wall: The Betrayal of Undercover Detective #4126 (Hardcover)
This is a well written, well documented and SPELLBINDING account of the life threatening betrayal of NYC undercover detective Vincent Armanti by a fellow police officer and his subsequent encounter with THE BRASS WALL thrown up by the NYPD hierarchy in order to protect a powerful commander and in an attempt to shield the department from unfavorable publicity and the ongoing political efforts to implement civilian oversight. Armanti, detective #4126, was a skilled operative who had successfully completed several undercover assignments due to his ability to adopt the personae of the targets of the operations in which he was involved - whether hit men , drug dealers, gunrunners or the Cosa Nostra. Thus, when he is recruited for an assignment involving the arson investigation of a Queens fire that had taken the life of Lieutenant Thomas Williams, a member of an elite rescue unit and a personal hero to many of his comrades, Armanti eventually finds the assignment irresistible despite his promise to his long time girlfriend Judy that he would not return to the streets after a recent brush with death and his transfer to the narcotics training unit.
He perfects the transition to Vinnie "Blue Eyes" Penisi, complete with the background of an ex-con and the attitude necessary to enter the closely knit world of the wiseguys of Throgs Neck, an insular neighborhood that unfortunately is not only the home of the small time mobsters suspected of the arson of a failed clothing store and the upstairs apartment from which Williams fell to his death, but also the neighborhood in which NYPD Inspector James Wyrnn lives and had raised his son, Detective John Wrynn.. Three months into the undercover investigation, an incident occurs which convinces Armanti that his cover has been blown and leads him to suspect a leak from within the department. He decides to continue despite being terrified that he may become the target of a mob hit and infuriated by the lack of cooperation (and in some instances outright obstruction) that he receives from officers high up the chain of command in Internal Affairs. Despite the lack of support (bordering on open hostility) towards the continuation of his investigation, in cooperation with a friends in the NYPD together with dedicated fire department investigators who still wanted to avenge their comrade's death, and the help of the FBI he manages to gradually develop a very strong web of circumstantial evidence against the suspected arsonist and the owners of the property that had been torched. More worrisomely, he also has assembled a trail of evidence that implicates Inspector Wyrnn of leaking information to his boyhood buddies about several investigations, and, even more seriously, that his father had used his powerful position and reciprocity due him from a favor of years ago to repeatedly interfere with the course of the investigation.
As indicated in the author's note, "this is a true story. It does not use composite characters, invented dialog, or other techniques of fictionalization." The only literary license was to change the names of the two undercover cops involved in order to protect their safety. Thus, in these pages you will find specific references to the roles in this drama of such well known individuals as Police Commissioners Kelly, Bratton, and Safir, Federal Judge Jack Weinstein and Mayors Dinkins and Guiliani. In fact, one of the really helpful literary touches given the complexity of the case is the extensive cast of characters at the beginning of the book which can be used for easy reference.
This is a cautionary tale that unfortunately illustrates exceedingly well the understandable but ultimately destructive tendency of all large organizations to close ranks and protect their own at any cost when faced with scandal or facts which may prove harmful to either the organization or one of its powerful members. Of course, when it the police who are involved, the power which the department wields often makes it almost impossible for the usual safeguards against such abuses of power to function. In this case, bureaucratic inertia and active contempt for the law are both at work. The book's author is a very talented writer who succeeds in making a gripping story come to life. He actually covered segments of the story after meeting Armanti while police bureau chief for the New York Times, and his intimate knowledge allows him to present a compelling story. (The footnotes at the back of the book provide context and list many of his sources. In addition, much of the dialog comes directly from taped conversations conducted by Armanti while undercover.)
I found this story riveting, and am thankful for the perseverance of true heroes such as Detective #4126. I am disappointed that the book did not get more widespread publicity when originally published, and hope that it gradually attains a wide readership. One final note: at the time of this review, there have been nine previous reviews written here, of which six have been five stars including one by a seemingly knowledgeable individual who claims to be able to vouch for the accuracy of the story based in his first hand knowledge. The remaining three reviews (one and two star) are all very brief and with anonymous authorship, and seem primarily intent on disparaging the credibility of the tale. Yet they offer no information to dispute any of the facts, and despite the depiction of several individuals in a very unflattering manner (incompetent, petty, and corrupt), to my knowledge no one has chosen to publicly dispute the charges or file suit against the publisher. (Given the voluminous evidence, including internal police documents and the trial transcripts of the defendants, it is not surprising that the only challenges are from a few anonymous individuals whose reputations have probably been damaged by this book.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !
Tucker Andersen
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great story, great writing, September 25, 2003
This review is from: The Brass Wall: The Betrayal of Undercover Detective #4126 (Hardcover)
The is a book for those of us who love the city street. The writer tells a great story and his attention to detail puts you into each setting perfectly. If you like true stories involving organized crime, this is a super good.
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