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Broken Badge: The Silencing of a Federal Agent

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In the tradition of Serpico, Nick Mangieri blows the lid off scandal and corruption in federal law enforcement in Broken Badge: The Silencing of a Federal Agent.

It's the late 1970s, and feminism is drawing attention to the workplace. Marion Barry's mayoral administration is swinging into high gear. Nick Mangieri is appointed as a Special Agent to investigate crimes of fraud and improper use of government money. But the wall of corruption that pervades U.S. federal agencies is too strong to break through-until Mangieri comes along.

Because of his comprehensive law enforcement background-which includes a term as a police chief-Mangieri was selected to investigate abuses at the federal level. When he swore an oath to uphold the law and the Constitution of the United States, he had no idea that his investigations would be thwarted at every turn by corrupt officials more interested in protecting each other than in justice.

In Broken Badge, Mangieri tells all, starting with his relentless pursuit of the truth that led to the resignation of a Florida college president and ordained minister who used federal money to coerce an innocent young woman into unwanted sexual relations. Mangieri follows the money trail from Florida to Washington, D.C., where he uncovers secrets that the rich, powerful politicians of the nation's capitol tried desperately to keep hidden behind closed (bedroom) doors. The attractive young ladies who were rocketed into high-level GS-14 government jobs without any workplace skills...the group of sexy female workers who were known to their influential politico bosses as their "harem" or the "dancing girls"...sexual coercion that pervaded government agencies, made possible by diverting federal funds intended for education...these are the crimes that Mangieri uncovered through his intensive investigations.

Mangieri blows Washington scandal and corruption out of the water-only to be thwarted from within his own agency. As his investigation into corrupt officials heats up, his persecution by officials from the Inspector General's office all the way down to the field level accelerates. At first it is subtle: Special Agent Mangieri is bogged down with superfluous paperwork and unwarranted transfers. As his inquiries begin to strike closer to home, he finds himself indicted on trumped-up charges, yanked off his cases-and eventually, forced to retire.

Mangieri details his wrenching experiences in Broken Badge, providing a spell-binding account of a righteous man who tried only to protect the innocent and ferret out the guilty-regardless of their power or position in society. Mangieri reveals how he stood up to the system and ultimately paid the price for upholding his oath of office.

Broken Badge not only recounts the horror of being falsely accused by powerful law-makers, it is also a realistic depiction of the day-to-day experiences of a federal investigator. Mangieri stays away from the trap of romanticizing the work of a Special Agent. Instead, he paints a picture of the gritty realities of the job. Broken Badge is a must-read for everyone who wants to know whether truth and justice can really triumph over corruption and obstruction of justice when the deck is stacked against you.

Outstanding read. I salute the author for his honesty and resolve. Having been assigned to Washington,DC as a member of the armed forces my observations paralleled that of the author's. As a Federal Investigator the author uncovered wrongdoing and by the oath of his office pursued the corruption. A Great Read! This is the Real World Folks! Read it! You won't put it down until you close the rear cover. The author should have received a medal.

Nick has a very special way of relating real events. I found this book very compelling and exciting to read, not only because of the author's straightforward style, but because these were real events.

If you like intrigue and real-life crime type stories... buy this book!

Mangieri's books bring to mind the nonfiction of Peter Maas, author of Serpico. However, Mangieri's work has a sharper edge, simply by virtue of the fact that it is based on his personal experiences and is told in his own words. His books are well worth our attention.

I really enjoyed this book, which tells of corruption in an important government investigator's job. Nick Mangieri dealt with very difficult issues that most of us don't have to face in our day-to-day lives. Despite the pressure, he kept his head and his integrity intact. We can all learn a lot from his story.

This book was written by a very angry person. Granted, the author may have a right to be angry. However as I read the book, ANY time ANY person questioned him, he became ANGRY, and attacked with words. A good deal of the book is memos and documentation of communications about cases. It amazed me how he was allowed to make personal verbal attacks against other employees, often his superiors in official documents. If he got on his managers bad side to start with and he didn't know why, I can tell him why. You just can't go around in business setting visibly showing your boss you think he or she is an idiot or verbally or in writing attacking your boss or speculating that he or she is attacking you.

It amazed me that he stated his ex wife abducted his children to parts unknown and he simply went on his merry way with a new job. I understand he was simply mentioning a significant personal event in the book but trying to keep his personal life details to a minimum. I still found it odd. I found the descriptions of women often sexist, but this WAS the 1970's. Terms such as 'the female supervisor' and 'a comely blonde' or 'the brunette,' are truly unnecessary. These people have names, and that really can be description enough.

He may have been on a case or cases that involved a cover up. I am truly sorry if he was railroaded.

Reading memos detailing speculations and perceptions that his boss was paranoid, nit picky, and an 'old lady' just annoyed me and really did nothing to press his 'righteous' anger.

As far as I can tell all of these books are self published.

This book gives the reader a vivid experience of the day-to-day reality of a white-collar crime investigator. Although the blurb tells us that the author didn't get his main targets, nevertheless he came very close to thwarting his adversaries (who certainly knew they'd been in a fight), and readers will be surprised to see what successes Mangieri had and how his efforts fell short. It's also encouraging to read about some of the allies Mangieri picked up, groups who work largely out of the spotlight but help greatly in keeping corruption and incompetence from wrecking our system altogether.