I’m working on a new book with Frank C Girardot and Ken Eurell about the cocaine cops of the 75th Precinct in New York City — maybe you saw the documentary. I was writing the introduction….and here is a rough draft of my opening remarks.
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There is one thing upon which we all agree. None of us were brought by the stork. Planned or unplanned, we are all the product of the same process of biology and genetics. We are all influenced by what we inherit from our parents and our environment.
A child raised on a farm in the Midwest has a different perspective than one raised on the South side of Chicago or Manhattan’s Lower East Side. We can argue nature vs nurture all day long, but it is an absolute fact that when it comes to our health and well being, we want to know our family’s medical history. It is in our best interest to know what talents, strengths, weaknesses or illnesses exist in our DNA.
It’s the same with cities. The personality of Los Angeles is different from that of Boston, just as Boston’s unique charm is distinct from that of New York City. Each town has its origin, outlook, and character, all of which are the product of its history and citizenry. All the primary characters in this story have what Billy Joel termed “A New York State of Mind.” To appreciate a rose, you do not sniff the soil from which it grew; To understand a rose, you must know the soil that nourished it and gave it life.
Regaled as “The most shocking scandal of corruption in the history of the NYPD,” the criminality and corruption of Michael Dowd, Ken Eurell, and their crew of Cocaine Cops as a gang unto themselves in the 75th Precinct doesn’t smell like a rose. To understand it, we must know the soil from which it grew, the culture and attitudes that gave it life, and, for the first time, experience it not only from the perspective of the ethically challenged participants, but also from the women who loved them and overlooked their faults – wives who first enjoyed the fruits of their husbands’ criminality, and then shared the suffering of public shame and ignominious humiliation.
Frank Girardot, Jr. and I are indeed lucky to tell you this story, and tell it the way we most enjoy – as if you were sitting right here with us, either leaning back in your chair or on the edge of your seat.
When writing this book, we started with the firm belief that you are our friend. You love true stories, and we have a true story to tell. And we make you a promise: Everything we tell you in this book is there for a reason. Nothing is superfluous. Everything is important. You have to trust us on this because sometimes it may seem that we are bringing up things that are not part of the story, but if you trust us, and stick with us, you will see how it all fits together.
One question I’m sure that comes to mind is, how did we get so lucky as to have this story to tell as it has never been told before, with cooperation from not only Ken Eurell, but also his wife whose perspective is fresh engaging and filled with emotion, plus inside information direct from former Dominican drug cartel kingpin, Adam Diaz?
Damn good question, and a fairly simple answer. Ken Eurell sold the movie rights to his story to SONY Pictures, but kept the literary rights. Ken knew he wasn’t an author any more than he was a movie maker. He asked our mutual acquaintance, famed journalistPaul Guzzo, for advice. It was Paul who connected us. I then turned to Frank Girardot, Jr, the brilliant award-winning journalist who co-wrote our best-selling true crime book, A TASTE FOR MURDER. He was immediately on board with equal enthusiasm.
In our earliest conversations about how to tell this story, I mentioned that men communicate to share data; women communicate to share emotion. The crime and corruption in the 75th Precinct of the NYPD is heavy on testosterone and data. The #1` audience for true crime stories is primarily women, although men are starting to catch on to the importance of the genre. The first thing I said was, “Can we get Ken’s wife to talk to us in depth. She is the true key to capturing the emotions behind the madness. It was 16 years ago that I coined the meme, “You can buy a Talking Barbie anywhere, but you can’t even special order Listening Ken”, make sure Ken’s wife knows we are ready to listen, and REALLY LISTEN.”
Our book doesn’t have an official title or cover art, and we are still writing it, but it should be available by September from WildBlue Press.
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