Customer Reviews

Murderer with a Badge: The Secret Life of a Rogue Cop (True Crime)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those familiar with Author Humes know that his stories are lengthy and detailed. "Murderer with A Badge" is no exception. The central character is Bill Leasure, a quiet, mild mannered, unassuming Los Angeles traffic cop. Outwardly, he could put in his 20 years, qualify for a pension and quietly pass from the scene. That is the picture Leasure would paint for the public. His accusers in the DA's office and LAPD would present a different portrayal. They believe that Officer Leasure is guilty of arranging murder, committing murder, a WIDE range of burglaries, possession of stolen goods and even adultery. The formal charges against Leasure are extensive with many charges,incidents, witnesses, and accomplices to sort through. They were so extensive that several hard core low life criminals were granted immunity to testify against him. How the author, the trial judge, the District Attorney and the defense counsel kept the real life maze of facts, truths, lies, contradictions and witnesses straight are a wonder. MWB is a complicated tale and very challenging for the average reader. This reviewer admits to simply losing track toward the end. Author Humes still does a wonderful job of trying to make sense of it all but in truth MWB could easily have been compressed into a shorter story. The ending is somewhat muddled but so are many true crime resolutions. Life is like that and MWB is no exception. Please note that this reviewer did not reveal the ending, as did at least one reviewer below. MWB is a 5 star tale with one deducted for its' extensive length. It is arguable whethet even hard core true crime mavens would add back the fifth star. Two closing notes: 1) I purchased MWB "used". Amazon and the previous owner handled the transaction from a previous owner. 2) The "Ann Rule rule" can be suspended for MWB. The centerfold pictures are not giveaways to the ending and may actually assist in sorting out the action and characters.

The kind of cop i would like to pull me over - he liked to give traffic violators a verbal warning instead of a ticket, wish we had traffic cops like that here in Reno. But he built an 8 car garage and filled it up with stuff stolen from yachts. He had a WWII trainer plane, several corvettes, and his own yacht. A mild mannered cop who slept around on his wife, stole and was involved in three murders, but he hated to write tickets! His wife was an LA prosecutor, but she claimed she did not know about her hubbie cops illegal activities. She did not even know about his affair with a young Chinese woman. A great read - I could not put it down.

I have read all of Edward Humes' other books and was delighted when Amazon.com recently added this one. Its a fascinating tale of a mild-mannered traffic cop who moonlights as a hired killer and even steals yachts on the side. Reminds me of the 1980s movie about the LAPD starring Richard Gere, but this story is true. It's a real page-turner.

Murderer With A Badge reads like a good work of fiction, but the story is completely true. In a story filled with numerous details, plot twists and a long list of shady characters, author Edward Humes does an excellent job of keeping everything tied together.

Most fascinating is the way that Humes portrays the complicated LAPD officer named Bill Leasure, who was regarded as a nice guy by his co-workers, his neighbors and most everyone else who knew him.

While he was a great cop on the outside, in secret, he was a yacht thief, swindler and murderer, and because he seemed like such a nice guy, he was able to cover up his inner demons for most of the 17 years that he was with the LAPD.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading true crime or fictional police novels.

Those familiar with Author Humes know that his stories are lengthy and detailed. "Murderer with A Badge" is no exception. The central character is Bill Leasure, a quiet, mild mannered, unassuming Los Angeles traffic cop. Outwardly, he could put in his 20 years, qualify for a pension and quietly pass from the scene. That is the picture Leasure would paint for the public. His accusers in the DA's office and LAPD would present a different portrayal. They believe that Officer Leasure is guilty of arranging murder, committing murder, a WIDE range of burglaries, possession of stolen goods and even adultery. The formal charges against Leasure are extensive with many charges,incidents, witnesses, and accomplices to sort through. They were so extensive that several hard core low life criminals were granted immunity to testify against him. How the author, the trial judge, the District Attorney and the defense counsel kept the real life maze of facts, truths, lies, contradictions and witnesses straight are a wonder. MWB is a complicated tale and very challenging for the average reader. This reviewer admits to simply losing track toward the end. Author Humes still does a wonderful job of trying to make sense of it all but in truth MWB could easily have been compressed into a shorter story. The ending is somewhat muddled but so are many true crime resolutions. Life is like that and MWB is no exception. Please note that this reviewer did not reveal the ending, as did at least one reviewer below. MWB is a 5 star tale with one deducted for its' extensive length. It is arguable whethet even hard core true crime mavens would add back the fifth star. Two closing notes: 1) I purchased MWB "used". Amazon.com and the previous owner handled the transaction quite capably. 2) The "Ann Rule rule" can be suspended for MWB. The centerfold pictures are not giveaways to the ending and may actually assist in sorting out the action and characters.

VERY INTERESTING STORY. CANNOT BELIEVE HIS WIFE DID NOT KNOW OF ALL HIS INVOLVEMENT OF STOLEN GOODS.WHAT A DISGRACE FOR LAPD..HE WAS LUCKY HE TOOK DEAL SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN MUCH HARDER SENTENCE. SO MANY LIVESCUT SHORT..WHERE IS HE NOW? BOOK WELL WRITTEN. EXPOSING THE CORRUPTION THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE IN MANY OTHER PD.LEASURE WAS A DISGRACE TO HIS PROFESSION. WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM AND WIFE THIS MANY YEARS LATER TERM OF 15 YEARS FINISHED..

My interest in this story is due to one of the murders that Leasure committed took place a few blocks from my home. When the 1980 beauty shop killing occurred, it shook the community for how random and senseless it was. I also knew an LAPD officer who was close friends with Leasure and who was really shocked when all this came out. The story is full of great details, and is a must read for people who love true crime tales, or anyone who wants to keep up on any non-fiction having to do with Los Angeles.

Having walked the same halls and worked the same streets, I found the book to be very accurate in most aspects. The book seemed to drag on for quite a while, it was like the author was getting paid by the word.
It is just hard to believe that this DISTURBED person made it on the LAPD. Crooked cops should be shot -- including this #%*hole. I know you cop haters will say that all cops are disturbed, I can assure you otherwise.

I haven't read this book yet, but it was shipped promptly and was in the condition described. I've already read some of the author's work, so I suspect I will like this book, as well.

I would shop here again.