Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia [Hardcover]

Guy Lawson (Author), William Oldham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2006

The Brotherhoods is the chilling chronicle of the alleged crimes and betrayals of NYPD Detectives Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, notorious rogue cops who stand charged with the ultimate form of police corruption-shielding their crimes behind their badges while they worked for the mob. These crimes included murder, kidnapping, torture, and the betrayal of an entire generation of New York City detectives and federal agents. This gripping real-life detective story reveals two brotherhoods, both with hierarchies, rituals, and codes of conduct. Chased for seven years by William Oldham, the brilliant and determined detective who didn't let the case die, Detectives Caracappa and Eppolito are at the centre of an investigation that moves from the mobbed-up streets of Brooklyn to Hollywood sets and the Las Vegas strip. Co-written with prize-winning investigative journalist Guy Lawson, the story spans three decades and showcases a cast of characters that runs the gamut from capo psychopaths to grieving mothers to a group of retired detectives and investigators working to see that justice is done.This quintessential American mob tale, both bizarre and compelling, ranks with such modern crime classics as Serpico, Donnie Brasco, and Wiseguy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The trial of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, two retired cops who were convicted of assisting the mafia during their long careers with the NYPD-in everything from providing information to murder-riveted New York and much of the U.S. earlier this year. Here, investigative journalist Lawson has captured the story of their downfall with the input of Oldham, the detective who caught them. Chronicling Oldham's seven-year investigation, and looking into the lives of two of the most crooked cops in the city's history, this book will fascinate true crime and mafia buffs, but is certainly vivid and compelling enough to capture a wide audience. Colorful mafia characters are a big draw, and Eppolito's strange, conflicted journey as the son of both a gangster and a cop is particularly intriguing. Because Eppolito and Caracappa remain stubbornly unknowable, however, the clearest character to emerge is Oldham himself. While the switch between a third-person account and Oldham's first person commentary could have been jarring, the detective's lengthy, articulate insights actually make the book; on his decision to move to New York twenty years ago, he explains, "I didn't want to be famous or rich. I wanted to put people in jail. The attraction for me was the crime. ...Crime was everywhere, but in New York City it was for real." Oldham's personal insight, and his keen ability to express it, makes Lawson's skillful, populist account truly riveting. Photos.
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Review

"The Brotherhoods is a great story brilliantly told. And no better storyteller than William Oldham, the misfit detective who not only exposes the arrangement between a Mafia boss and the pair of New York City detectives who killed for him, but the bitter, egotistical battle for credit that breaks out between the handful of lawmen who expose it." - Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy

"Absorbing...An important and well-told story." - Los Angeles Times

Vivid and compelling.... Colorful mafia characters are a big draw, and Eppolito's strange, conflicted journey as the son of both a gangster and a cop is particularly intriguing.... Oldham's personal insight, and his keen ability to express it, makes Lawson's skillful account truly riveting." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743289447
• ISBN-13: 978-0743289443
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story ...but Strangely Organized and Underdocumented, December 27, 2006

By 

maskirovka (Alexandria, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia (Hardcover)

I think this is a fascinating story about the mafia and police corruption. But there are two things that preclude me giving it five stars:

1. Throughout the book, there are many comments apparently written by Mr. Oldham, that are in the first person. Ordinarily, I would think this a rather clever narrative device (something like the way Joe McGinnis used letters and tape recordings of convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald to set off major sections of the book "Fatal Vision."

The problem is that unlike "Fatal Vision," these passages aren't set off by words like, "Oldham's comments." Nor are they italicized. So the transition from the third person to the first person is jarring as some other reviewer has also noted.

2. The second problem is with documentation. I have no doubt that the book is very well researched. I just wish the authors had documented this research. There aren't any footnotes, and given the fact that there are a lot of interesting direct quotes, I would have liked to have known where they came from. For example, when the book has "Gaspipe" Casso say something, would it have killed the authors to say in an endnote, "this came from his proffer to the D.A."?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read..., December 11, 2006

By 

A. Banks (New York,, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia (Hardcover)

Having followed the trial and watched the two cops speak on the news and on 60 Minutes asserting their innocence, it was incredible to read what these psychopathic killers actually did over the last twenty years using their cover as NYPD detectives. As a New York resident it was astounding to learn what was going on on the streets just blocks away..murders, kidnapping, drug wars..all the more unbelievable because the events actually happened. The book gives us details and insights into both worlds; the fraternity of the NYPD, and the degenerating culture of the Mafia. It is a big, sprawling, gritty story- one of those books that has you running home from work to crack into it and see what happens next.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly horrifying and fascinating, December 11, 2006

By 

M.W "M.W" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia (Hardcover)

This book is even more incredible because every word of it is true. The idea that NYPD cops were able to commit such heinious crimes and get away with it for so long is just plain scary. An excellent read!