Customer Reviews

NYPD Blue Lies: The Shocking True Story of Racism, Corruption, Cover-Ups and Murder in the NYPD

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The title of this book should have been "Former Fired Sergeant Castro's Lies". In Castro's own words, (see for yourself) he starts the book with this quote "I have recreated events based on my experience where the thoughts and actions of the participants are disputed or can not be known with certainty. In those incidents the descriptions are presented in italics and represent no more then my opinions as to what hypothetically may have occurred." That spells out nothing more then a POOR opinion from a disgruntled "FIRED" former NYPD Sergeant, (or a fairy tale)! The writer backs NOTHING up with facts! It is sad to read some of the reviews that state this was "good reading" and a "true account of the NYPD". This book does NOT represent the truth of the New York City Police Department! Fact: Castro was fired for violating department policy. Fact: Castro's ex wife was fired for violation of department policy. Fact: Promotion within the NYPD is based on a civil service exam and has NOTHING to do with race, creed, color, religion and/or sexual orientation, (1st four ranks: Police Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain). Fact: When Mayor David Dinkins was in office, (1989 to 1993) there was an average TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED murders in New York City, (2,400) and AFTER Mayor Rudolph Giuliani came to office, (1993 to 2001) the NYC murder rate was lowered to an average of NINE HUNDRED and FIFTY, (950) murders. Do the math on that one and how anyone can find fault in that is beyond me. Castro's book makes the NYPD out to be a hit squad who shoots everyone, but fact of the matter is 99.99% of the time where deadly physical force can be used its NOT! ESPECIALLY in hostage situations.

I could go on and on about how poorly written and untrue this book is, but its honestly not worth my time or yours.


I am not saying the NYPD is flawless, but what organization is?

As a retired detective with over twenty years in one of the most prestigious units in the NYPD I can say that I conducted hundreds of investigations. Proudly, my investigative training and expertise always resulted in me catching the bad guy. Criminals are caught many times because they leave behind signatures. These signatures can range from phrases, to marks on a wall or particular method of handwriting just to name a few. Interestingly enough when I read the review by Greg NYC, his words jumped off the page and hit me in the face. The old familiar abusive language and condescending statements reminded me of an old friend of mine from the NYPD. The review by Greg NYC who sounds eerily like J. Brandt, the gadfly of his unit is nothing more than a diatribe. Brandt who is a close friend of the author chose to write about the author's relationship with disgraced NYS Senator Hiram Monserrate and that the author used bad judgment for speaking highly about Monserrate, twelve years before Monserrate was convicted of misdemeanor assault. How is that a review? Furthermore, the author doesn't write extensively about his relationship with Monserrate, however, J.Brandt writes about their friendship because he knows how close they were as he too is close with both of them. For whatever reason in his sick mind J. Brandt decided to write such a ridicules and idiotic review about NYPD Blue Lies only he knows. J. Brandt claims that this book is highly speculative. That is a crock of manure, every single act of misconduct written about in NYPD Blue Lies that was committed by corrupt police officers can be verified by going to Charles Castro's website. In fact many of the incidents that J. Brandt claims were "speculative" were highly publicized cases. Castro's biggest point is that even as heinous and highly publicized as these cases were, many cops were given menial punishments. J.Brandt even goes on to call his close friend a racist. Maybe J. Brandt has Alzheimer's or dementia did you forget the fact that Castro helped to organize a $27 million dollar lawsuit against the NYPD for racial discrimination and won. NYPD Blue Lies is a book that I read in four days, it captivated me from beginning to end. I don't know Charlie Castro well but I do know that he is a funny individual and some of the stories in this book had me peeing in my pants. Overall the book is very well written yet it can be offensive to some readers who may differ with Charlie Castro's point of view.

Any NY lawyer thinking about taking on the NYPD better have this book! I have purchased it for all my interns and associates, and even for my family and friends. It reads like a block-buster movie, and this book epitomizes the very reason I stopped reading fiction. Why waste precious time reading fantasy when the truth is even more exciting?

I would not trust the negative reviews here, because if you read closely enough you will see that they seem to be written by people that may have some sort of personal beef with the author. Might even be his nemesis back on the force for all we know!

This is Castro's first book and he didn't have an editor catch the glitches -- big deal! No need to nitpick because the story will blow you away from start to finish. Can't wait for part two!!! Also can't wait for the big screen version!

Charles Castro has written a fascinating book that holds the readers interest on many levels. Part autobiography, part civil rights primer, part history and part politics. It holds your interest to the bitter end. And yet the reader wants to know more. It is the story of one man's journey in life and through life during specific political and personal turmoil. Charles Castro reveals his soul unabashedly for all to see. The good and bad in his life and his deeds are laid out bare on the page almost daring you to judge him but you don't. Instead the intelligent reader will find him to be a compelling individual who takes you on a wild ride through soul killing adversity and brings you out on the other side as a survivor, like him. As someone who has litigated against the NYPD for over a decade and represented numerous members of the service I find Charles Castro's experiences with the NYPD and their responses to be factual and accurate. Unfortunately his employment experiences of discrimination are not unique and the story he tells is a common tale for most minorities and women on the job. But it is in the way he tells his story, that is different. It is not just that he is a gifted writer, he is beyond that, its the way he combines humor, pathos, politics and history in a balance that most published writers which they could achieve. I highly recommend this book to every person currently in law enforcement or thinking about joining law enforcement, to students of writing, history,civil rights, politics, law students and to the average person who will gain strength from learning how one man, an average man, fought and overcame adversity. It is sad, compelling, uplifting, life affirming,emotional and, yes, educational. I read it from start to finish through the night I couldn't put it down. I sincerely hope Charles Castro continues to write. He has much to say and I like the way he says it.

I experienced many different emotions while reading this book. As a Hispanic woman working in corporate America I've had my share of discrimination and racism. From the start of the book I found myself rooting for Charles Castro. He joined the police force full of optimism, gun ho and ready to make a difference until reality hit him in the face. it made me angry to read about how they tried to keep him from doing a good job and advancing simply because of his race. The anger I felt turned to pride when I read about the many ways Castro fought back and the good work he did while on the job. Reading about the Diallo case and the other stories where the nypd used excessive force and,murdered and got away with it brought me back to how I felt when I first heard these stories in the news. I remember thinking there's no way these people can get away with these crimes. Yet, here we are all these years later and that's just what happened. How easy it is to forget to turn our backs and pretend it didn't happen. Shame on us and congratulations to Castro for having the guts to write this book and bring it out to light again.

This book is filled with action, suspense,triumph, and courage. the personal stories are intriguing and entertaining. This book is worth reading and would make a great movie.

This is a gritty book that depicts the veteran sargeant dark experiences in the NYPD. It's not a secret to the public that some cops are racists among their own workforce. Reading some of Castro's disturbing stories made me downright sick to my stomach. I readed other police books, and in such book one cop admitted that most of their own peers don't have a sense of humor, their toughness, their ego and cockiness; and the panache for strange parlance and anecdotes, and their occasional bursts of machismo are delivered since first generation. This is not a summer book. It is a book that will make you think, and wake you up about who are the real crooks in our society. I strongly recommend this book...Just buy it!!!

THIS BOOK WAS WELL WRITTEN AND DEFINITLY A JAW DROPPER, ITS AMAZING WHAT THE DEPARTMENT GETS AWAY WITH AND STILL DOES, HOPEFULLY THERES A FOLLOW UP BOOK, CANT WAIT..

upon reading this book i found it very interesting. i like the fact that you have a sergeant showing ,how corruption ran rampant, but was hidden from the public. He spoke about his personal life,so that we can understand the author view as a matter of fact, my opinion about mayor giuliani.....i found it to be very exciting. a very well written book with lots of insight. i recommend this book to friends and family so that they can really know the truth behind the N.Y.p D

This book will hopefully correct the misconceptions and preconceived notions many have that bias, discrimination, and racism perpetuated by the NYPD solely affects people of color in the civilian communities.

Although by far, every member of the NYPD is not necessarily a racist, racism continues to remain prevalent within the "Blue Walls"

I am not a member of the NYPD but I do live in NYC and am interested in cultural issues. I picked up this book and found it to be a good read, well written, (however, numerous grammatical and editing errors abound) but also a highly speculative book.

The author has encountered a SERIOUS credibility issue after this book was written in large part because he writes extensively about his close relationship with disgraced New York politician and former NYPD cop Hiram Monserrate. Monserrate, potrayed as a good guy by the author, has been convicted of assault, and its obvious to anyone who followed the story that he was also someone who entered into a huge coverup regarding the crime so he would not be convicted of a felony, vs the misdemeanor. Hiram is a disastrous and disgraced status in state politics, and it really burns Castro's credibility to see how he puts him on a throne. Monsserate was thrown out of the NYPD with a psychological disability - yet Castro would be quick to point out that he was discriminated because he was latino. Hmmmm. You should also know that Castro was on Hirams defense during the girlfriend bashing case, working as a investigator to prove him innocent. That smells dirty.

The author does not provide a index with any documentation of many of the cases or incidents he claims happened. Many of these were public events, and so there could and should have been a index of sources.

Secondly, the author, while he probably does have the right to feel he was discriminated against by being Latino, takes his personal vendetta a little to far. He constantly adds the word "spic" without proof, suggesting people were thinking this or saying this in situations, when it just cant be proved. It seems the author is paranoid that everyone is racist or constantly viewing his as a "spic." The author, in so many words, clearly shows his lack of self esteem about his own race over and over again in this book. By the end of the book, you start to think Castro is the racist, because he really uses the term "white" in trashy tones, and is just so clearly paranoid about race.

Castro was a loud mouth, unreliable and unpredictable cop, albeit a self proclaimed good one, there should be no wonder he was under the microscope. Any big organization or Company would have done the same to a loud and troublesome employee to cover themselves, be them any race. The sense is after reading this book, Castro felt he had to be loud and noisy about everything just because he WAS latino.

No doubt the NYPD is a organization with troubles, like ANY organization. But Castro's lack of evidence, lack of documentation and his speculative and "suggestive" tone is not good police work. One would expect a policeman to know better. Might this be what landed him out of the NYPD?