Locked In with Ian Bick - I Hunted Brooklyn’s Drug Dealers As An NYPD Narcotics Detective | James Famiano

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

James Famiano grew up with parents battling addiction and knew from a young age that he wanted to become a cop and escape the chaos he was born into. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, James breaks down his more than 20-year career with the NYPD, working across multiple boroughs, from the streets as a Brooklyn narcotics detective to handling some of the darkest cases in the Special Victims Unit. He shares stories from inside New York’s war on drugs, the toll the job took on his mental health and family, and what it’s really like to chase criminals while trying not to become one of the broken people he grew up around. _____________________________________________ #IanBick #LockedIn #cops #NYPD #Brooklyn #NarcoticsDetective #PoliceStories #truecrimepodcast _____________________________________________ Thank you to GOLD DROP SELTZERS for sponsoring this episode: Head to https://www.thedryoak.com/ and use promo code LOCKEDIN at checkout for 10% off your order. _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 I Grew Up In Addiction Before I Wore A Badge 02:13 Watching Addiction Destroy My Family 03:30 From Italian Suburbs To The NYPD 06:06 Why I Chose The NYPD Over A “Normal” Life 09:12 Inside The NYPD Academy: What Really Happens 14:10 My First Nights Policing Midtown Manhattan 17:57 A Young NYPD Cop’s Reality On The Street 20:00 Patrolling Chinatown: What Tourists Never See 23:17 The Cases That Turned Me Into A Real Cop 26:41 Going Plainclothes: The Rules Change Overnight 29:00 Sent To Brooklyn Narcotics: Everything Escalated 32:26 How I Turned Brooklyn Drug Dealers Into CIs 36:00 How I Actually Became An NYPD Detective 41:03 Major Drug Cases, The Feds & Rikers Island 46:34 Going Undercover In NYC’s Drug World 51:44 Courtrooms, Corrupt Cops & Hidden Misconduct 57:39 I Thought I’d Die On This Call 01:02:02 NYC Crime: Then vs Now From A Narcotics Detective 01:07:36 Internal Affairs & NYPD Politics From The Inside 01:12:53 Working SVU: The Cases That Still Haunt Me 01:18:01 Cop Culture, Divorce & Life After The NYPD 01:21:07 My Unfiltered Advice To Anyone Becoming A Cop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Serious dude. And let me tell you, he knew he knew. And every information that he gave me was valid between guns and drugs. James Famiano grew up with parents struggling with addiction and decided early on he wanted to become a cop. Over a 20-plus year, NYPD career, he worked in multiple boroughs from Brooklyn narcotics to special victims. In this episode, you'll hear how his childhood shaped the way he policed,

what day-to-day life was really like inside those units and how the job affected him on and off the clock. Where'd you grow up, James? I grew up in Long Island. Okay. What was that like? It was good. I grew up with two brothers, two parents, and it was good, good suburban life.

My mom's side of the family's from Rockville, Center area. Okay. Yeah, it's not, I grew up in Wantown, so it's like maybe 15, 20 minutes east. And I worked at the Whole Foods in Massapequa. Oh, well, I was like 10 minutes from there. Oh, really? So, yeah, yeah, I know the area will. Yeah, lived in a little Airbnb, like rented a room for the couple months I was there.

Okay. And then I was like, there's nothing to do out here in the winter. Yeah, yeah. So then I came back to Connecticut. Cool. Yeah. That's cool. What did your parents do for work?

So my dad was construction and my mom stayed home. Where do you think, though, the law enforcement ambitions came from? So it's funny. So I grew up in a very opposite of law enforcement. So my parents were both addicts. And then I saw a lot of stuff, crazy stuff growing up. And I decided to go the other way. How did you know they were addicts?

How old were you? Well, I didn't know until later on in my life. Until, you know, I started to be probably maybe 15, 16 years old to kind of see what was going on. And then I decided just to go the other way. And I said, you know, I can't live like this. Do you remember what the first thing you saw was? Oh, yeah, absolutely. So both of my parents did methanol for many, many years. And then they dibed and dabbed in a few other things. So I saw that as a kid, me and my brothers. And then, like I said, I just, I said, I can't live like this. How are you as a person when you were a kid in your teenage years?

Well, I played sports my whole life. So I was kind of like a normal kid. I bounced around a little bit. But it was good, you know, had a lot of friends. My friends that I played sports with and then I hung out with like all the Italian guys. So we went back and forth. Did you guys grow up Italian? Yeah, grew up Italian, like old-fashioned. That's like my mom's side of the family too. Yeah, it was cool. You know, you had the sauce on Sunday, stuff like that.

It was good. Wait, so is it sauce or what's the other word? No, so it's funny. Everybody says the difference between sauce and gravy. But what happens is you call it gravy when you put meat in it. So if you put a lot of meat in the sauce, then they say it's gravy. Okay. But I've always grown up on sauce, but everybody's got that little thing.

I never heard it being called gravy until it recently was like all over social media in the last couple of years. You know, it's whatever. Like, for me, I grew up on sauce, so. Yeah. You know. Did you decide in high school you were going to become a cop? Yeah. When I was probably like maybe 10th or 11th grade, I decided.

And where do you want to go to college if you wanted to go? So I really, so I could have went away. I had a, so I used to play sports. I played football for many years. And I had a half ride to go to school upstate. but then I didn't really know anything about college, especially with loans and stuff like that. I didn't know anything.

My parents didn't really help me. So then I decided to kind of just hang out. And that's what I did. I hung out for like a few years. And then I just started working. And then I took the police test when I was probably 22, 23. They called me, but then I had a suspended license. And I've gotten arrested a few times as a younger kid.

So then I had to clear that up. And then I cleared out. I worked. and then I wanted to become a cop when I was about 29. What were the arrest for? Suspended license, like bullshit, and then one time I had an assault, and then that was it. Do you think there are a lot of cops that have that type of background?

Oh, absolutely. So a lot of cops, especially that I worked with, all had some type of family issues somewhere along the line. Do you think it's stricter now with those types of background? Yeah, I do because of social media. So back then when I did it, there was no social media. So there was just, you know, normal stuff. I just had to, you know, support what my final depositions was, whatever my arrest was.

So it's like now is very, very different. And do they do it on a case-by-case basis? Yeah. So what happens is when you first become a cop, you get an investigator. It's usually a detective or a cop and they'll investigate everything about you. And then anything that comes up, you just have to explain it. And if they feel that you're okay, then they'll move forward with the, you know, investigation. Why do you decide to wait a few years before pursuing that line of work?

up because I just wanted to hang out I was kind of a wild kid so I was in the club scene hanging out, drinking, going to bars doing all types of crazy stuff. Are you glad you had those years to do that? Yeah, I do because you know what it is? When I became a cop, I was older

and I had life experience so I did all types of things. So for me, I think it was more I was able to relate more when I became a cop and I had to deal with certain people because guys that I worked with were younger guys and they couldn't understand.

So like for me, I started, and I worked in mid-time. So if Midtown was great, but then I went down to Chinatown. I worked down there. And then I went to Brooklyn. And I went into Brooklyn. It was like, oh, my God. It's like, what, you know, what am I doing?

And then it was just easier for me to relate to people. So I think it was good. Would you give that same advice to, say, another kid that is thinking about becoming a cop? Well, absolutely. So it's funny. I have a family member that's on the job as well. And he's a younger kid, and I got him in the city. And my wife always told me, why did you do that?

You should have let him go wherever he wants. And it's funny, too, because when I talk to him today, like, he still doesn't get a lot of things. And I try and tell him. But he's a young kid. So I kind of, now I just kind of step off a little bit. How did you know in your mind you were ready to actually take the step to becoming the cop after your few years off?

So you know what it was? I wanted to work in full time. And I worked with a lot of old times. I was in a painting business. I was in a union. And I worked hard. and I've seen a lot of older guys, you know, and I'm like, shit, do I really want to do this, you know,

for the rest of my life? The money was great, don't get me wrong. But then I'm like, fuck this, you know? I'm like, let me go back. I'll take the test. And 20 years, retirement. And you know what? It was the best decision I ever made.

What was the test like back then? It was, so you had to do it physical. You had, I think, run a mile and a half in like 12 and a half minutes. You go to a psych, like a series of questions. And then the first thing you do, take a written test, then the physical and then the psych. And then once you get through all that, then that's it. Now, was this a period of time when it was harder to become a cop?

Yeah, it was a little different. It was a little different. Were you on like a wait list or were you able to take a right? Yeah, so what happens is you get, so once you take all that, they assign you an exam number and a list number. And then you'll get an investigator. And that investigator will call you and say, hey, listen, you're whatever, number 1022. There's a class going in six months.

You know, are you prepared and whatever? And then once you supply all your paperwork and everything, then you know, then you can go from there. So what were you 22 or 23 when you? So I was around. So I got in when I was 29. I took the test probably maybe 27, 28. Oh, so it was more than a few years. Yeah.

So for me it was a little different. But I had kind of bad luck too as well. So I took the test. So this is a crazy story. I took the test. I go to the psych. And I had this girl. I was in like a room smaller than this.

I'll not forget. It was smaller than this. you know, you got to wear a suit. It's in the summer. I'm sweating my fucking balls off. And she's asking me questions. And she asked about my prior arrest and why I got in trouble. I explained it, no problem.

So now like two, three months passed. I don't hear anything. So I'm like, what the fuck is going on? So I knew a couple people. So we made a phone call and they said, you're on psych review. So I go, what the fuck? So I go, for what? So she's, you know, they wanted to go back on why I was arrested when I was a kid.

So finally, when we make a phone call. I go back and she asked me a couple more questions. And it was six months later. And then finally she passed it. Then I get assigned an investigator. And then my investigator winds up going out sick for like a year. So then that's why all that time lapsed. Then I got fucked.

They couldn't just assign it to a new investigator? They could. But you know what it was back then? Those investigators had numerous cases. So what happens is it's not like, hey, here you go. He's your only case. They say they got 50, 60 cases. You go on the bottom of the barrel.

and when you're called, you're called. How long is the investigation process? Usually it takes on an average, like six months. Well, back then it did. As far as now, I'm not sure. And do you think it's important? Like an important answer? Oh, yeah.

I think it's very important. Very important. Does everything in your life kind of get dug up? Yeah, pretty much, because you've got to explain everything. And do they just interview the people in your family? Or are they interviewing like neighbors? No, so they interview neighbors as well. Like, you have to give a bunch of references.

They will go and question them. And like now, today's different. Like I said, because they'll look at you, all your social media. And if you start posting, like, you know, racist shit or whatever, you're not going to get hired. But back then, yeah, they just ex, you know, personal friends and stuff like that. And do they go through, like, financial information too? Yeah, absolutely.

I was reading that somewhere. That was interesting. Yeah, they go through all that stuff because things. So just to fast forward a minute when I became a detective later in my career. And I went to a unit with narcotics. And in my interview, that was a big one, finance. They started asking me a lot of questions about that. And do they go for like, say you're married, do they look at your, like, spouses?

Yeah, absolutely, because you're not supposed to be associated with a felon when you're on a job or when you're going for the job and stuff like that. So if you are, they're going to, you know, that could be a discrepancy. That could be a problem. Do you think that rule is less strict now? Oh, absolutely. It's less strict. Okay. If you see all the cops that are getting in trouble, what was the last few days I started seeing the news or all these different cops getting in trouble.

What I was surprised by is how many cops can get arrested for a DUI and say get fired from one department. and then are able to get a job at another department. Well, with the NYPD, I know guys that get, if they get arrested for DUI, they go to, what the hell is it? They go away for six months, like a rehab. Oh, they call it the farm. They go to the farm for six months. Once they complete that, then they can go back to their assignment.

Wait, they're allowed to work back on the job again? Yeah, if it's once. If it's their first time, they go to the farm for six months, and then they'll come back. As long as there's no, you know, nobody dies or anything like that. Yeah, they can go. back. That's crazy. Yeah. And didn't New York just pass recently, like a stricter law for DUIs? I'm not sure. They could have. Okay. I think I saw something on Facebook about that. Possibly.

Like that they take the license faster or something. They could. They could. So now when you finally get hired on the job, do you find out where you're going to work at before training or after? Yeah. So it's so crazy. So while you're in the academy, you find out it's usually the second or last day of the academy. So I had a family friend that, uh, his, that took care of me a little bit. Made a phone call for me, and I wind up going to Midtown. I went to Midtown South,

which was like the big hook house, they called it. So I started there. Is that where you wanted to go? Yeah, I wanted to go there at first because I didn't know anything else about the job. So I went there and it was interesting. I worked Times Square on a footpost.

It was real cool. I met a lot of celebrities. I did a lot of cool things. A lot of girls. Oh, my God, Taurus. Unbelievable. You know, had a good time there. Now, you grew up on Long Island.

Yeah. How hard is it to learn, like, the streets and the city and everything? Well, for me, you know what it was? I came on a little older. So I'd been to the city before. I used to hang out, go to a lot of clubs when I was younger and stuff like that. So for me, like, if I became a cop in New York City, I'd have such a hard time navigating it.

Yeah. Excuse me. It's not that bad. Like I said, for me, it was a little different. But if you're a young kid that's from Long Island, never left. And then they put you in East New York, you're like, what the fuck is going on, you know? What was the training like at that point in time? When I first became a cop.

Yeah, when you first became a cop. So I went to, so we used to do something called Impact. Impact is they used to take all the rookie cops and put them in, like, flood certain areas. So they used to flood us, obviously, in Times Square. And then we had cops that were a little senior than us. And they would give us, you know, the rules and regulations and everything else and what we should and shouldn't do. And then you were assigned a certain boss and he would take, like, say, I don't know, five to 10 cops. and then he would train you.

And then that's how it would work. What was the hardest thing to learn when you first started? Probably the paperwork. Because, you know, any academy they teach you one way, which is like the textbook way. But that's bullshit. That doesn't mean anything. When you're out in the streets, it's totally different, you know?

So you got to learn, you know, from life experience and, you know, kind of get it in your gut on what to do the right thing is. Do you remember your first arrest? Oh, absolutely. I could tell you like it was yesterday. My first arrest was in front of 1540 Broadway, which used to be Virgin Records in Times Square.

I'm standing outside with somebody. Another partner, I forgot their name, and some knucklehead comes running out. I'm standing right there. So I don't know what was going on, so I grabbed them. So this idiot shoplifted, knocked some lady out, and ran out. So it wound up being a bullshit robbery,

and I locked them up. How long does it take to get comfortable on the job? I think it depends. know it's kind of weird because each borough works different as far as paperwork. And I experienced that about three or four times. So once I got comfortable in Manhattan, it was cool. But then when I got transferred to Brooklyn, it was like starting over again. So it was crazy. And then, you know, I went from Manhattan to Brooklyn to the Bronx and then I finished my career in Manhattan. Why do you think it's not streamlined? Why do they have different procedures? I don't know. I'm not really

sure. They should streamline it, but they don't. It's kind of a crazy thing. Now walk us through a typical day when you were in Midtown for starting on patrol. Oh, it was great. So my post was 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenue. So I would basically just walk up and down a block. And then we would do what's called as verticals. Verticles meaning you're going into the building, you're walking up and down, seeing what's going on and that's it. Well, for me, it was great because I used to work Sundays and football. I used to watch the jet games in a hotel eating lunch while I'm getting paid. It was great, you know. But then, you know, you just deal with a lot of tourists too, you know. So everybody's asking you for directions and stuff like that.

And it was cool. Now, back then, is it like how it is now where there's a ton of cops dispersed and walking on patrol? No. So it's weird today. So right now, the department's shorter. That's number one. And they're not putting cops on every block. Maybe in Midtown, but as far as the other areas, no, not so much. Yeah, I noticed it's more like the touristy Times Square. Yeah, that's where it's loaded. Yeah. So back then it wasn't loaded like that? Just with certain areas, just Midtown was, as far as like the other areas, not really. So what would the response time be for the other areas when if you have all of these cops centralized in one location? Well, it all depends on how big it is.

So like, think about Manhattan, right? So Manhattan, it's not just NYPD depending what's going on. You have, you know, you have Fed guys, you got state guys, you got cold offices. You got a million different people. In Queens, think about it in the middle of Queens where it's spread out like kind of like Long Island. their response times are a lot longer. You know what I mean? So it all depends on where you are.

Do they do speeding tickets in New York City? Oh, I'm not sure, man. I haven't really seen it like that. Dale enforcement, you know, the minor bullshit stuff. Yeah, like that, like if you do a wrong turn or something. Yeah, stuff like that. But they're not actually doing like radar on the streets. Nah, I'm sure mostly like on the FDR drive or the West Side Highway, they'll do it as far as that, no.

Was it hard to navigate driving as a cop in the city? So it's funny. So when I went down to Chinatown, I didn't really know that area too well. So that was interesting working down there and navigate no streets down there because there were numbers but a lot of were names. So like in Midtown, everything's a number. That's easy. Once you start veering off towards like downtown or uptown, it goes to names. So that's when you've got to start.

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probably like accidents or you know it was a big one kids used always to get taken for like the three card Bonnie guys

I don't know if you remember that as a kid so back in the days they used to have guys that used to do the card trick they would have say three or four cards

and they would move them back and forth and what they would say you would show you a card and say it was like three of diamonds and they would say all right

they moved the cards move the cards and they put the three cards back and they would say which one's three of diamonds say you said it was the first one And now, no, it's a third one.

You lose your money. So they would bet, and that's how they would do it. Or they would get kids, like Torres kids for ID. They would say, oh, I'll buy you, you know, give me money and I'll give you a fake ID. Kids would do that, and they would say they got robbed. But it wasn't a robbery because you gave the fucking guy of money, right, voluntarily. So it's not a robbery. So what would you guys do in those situations?

Can't do anything. You gave the money voluntarily. If he took it physically from you, that's a different story. But it's bullshit. What about the street vendors? Were you guys big on enforcement back then? Once in a while, you would go in your spurts every once in a while. They would get the street fenders.

But for the most part, they really didn't bother anybody. Just trying to make a living those guys, you know? I remember as a kid always seeing the movies that were still in theaters on the DVDs. And I'd always say to my parents, I want to get one. And they were like, no, we're not getting these. But it was interesting. How many of those? You don't really see those nowadays.

Not too much. They usually seem downtown, like in Chinatown and stuff like that. but not as far as, like, really anywhere else too much. When you first became a cop, did you know where you wanted your career to go? Well, I knew I wanted to be a detective. As far as where, I didn't know where. And then eventually I wound up, you know,

I wound up getting it. So that was a cool thing. Do you start your career becoming a detective, like, on day one? Do they kind of map it out for you what you used to do? No, so you kind of, you make your own career. That's one good thing about it, especially in NYPD. There's so many different units that if you really want to go, you can.

or if you want to be a boss, like, so you could be a sergeant, lieutenant, captain, whatever. You could do that route. I chose to be a detective because I love the streets and that's what I love, you know, love to do. But you could be a detective in a million different units, depending on where you want to go. What year did you start on the force? 2005. Okay. So this was after 9-11.

Yeah, after 9-11. Yeah. Did they tell you how much things had changed and, say, policing in New York City after that? Or it was all kind of... No, not really. It was pretty much... same. Like, you know, you had your moments and stuff with certain terrorism threats and stuff like that, but not too much. Now, after Midtown, where do you go? So I started in Midtown.

I stayed there for like seven, eight months, and then I went to Chinatown. And I worked down in China time for like six and a half years. Just as a patrol cop? Yeah, so I started as, no, well, I started again as footpost. I did footpost bullshit. I did work, and they put me wherever like the high area was, the crime areas. Then I did a unit. I was in conditions. Conditions where we wrote like C-Summons is and bullshit like that. I see summons is for like, say, somebody pissing or drinking a beer in public, stuff like that. And then I wound up going to the crime unit.

I did that. Crime was different because you're working with guys that were in plain clothes. And that's where I first started, three or four guys. And then we just worked the area doing all types of stuff from robberies to grand larcenies to burglaries, you know, drug arrest, stuff like that. Now, when you're assigned just as a foot patrol or street cop, do you get a car too or now? You can get a car. I didn't.

I didn't have a car. We walk around, man. So you walk from the station to wherever? Yeah, walk from the station to wherever you got to go. How long is that walk? It depends. Chinatown's not that big. So it wasn't bad.

It's maybe 15, 20 minutes. But it's cool because you start learning the area. You go to your coffee spots. You go to your food spots. You know where to go. God forbid it's real cold out or stuff like that. And you know where to go. Was there a language barrier?

Yeah, but there was a lot of agents in that area. And if you always need an interpreter, you could always go on the police radio and ask somebody. So you always had interpreters. And then you wind up knowing the people on the street. So you wind up finding out. If you really needed help, they would help you out. What type of crime would happen in that area? So you had, like, the trademark counterfeits.

You had a lot of burglaries. So Chinatown is a weird area. All the buildings connect. So I remember the first time I chased somebody, we walk into a building. I lost the guy in like five minutes and then we started walking around. I come out of building. I'm on another block.

So those buildings are old tenements. So it's weird. When you start walking in there, you got to be careful because you don't know where you're going. Once you start to learn an area, then it's easier. What's a story that really sticks out to you from that period of time?

Oh, I have a good story. So when I worked in Chinatown, when I was in a crime unit, we had two other Asian cops and he had information that guys were doing our taxi cab robberies. So what happens is he wanted to give us the information. We were doing crime.

It was probably late at 12 o'clock at night. And I suppose we were there Vietnamese guys. That's what you got told. And we were like, all right. So he told us where they might be in an area with a certain car. We said, okay, cool. Start driving around, driving around. Holy shit, we see the car.

We see four guys in the car. He said, all right. So we were going to wait until they did a hit. They were actually attempting a hit. But the boss at the time that I had, She was like, no, we're not going to wait because God forbid somebody gets hurt. So going back and forth, back and forth. They take off.

We get them on a traffic infraction, pull them all out of the car. Sure is shit. They had fucking plastic wraps, duct tape, all types of fucking like knives. It was all there, rope, everything. And I'll never forget, we bring them back and they wore Vietnamese guys. They were four Vietnamese guys. And there was a pattern in Brooklyn. So right over the Brooklyn Bridge is, I think the 8-4.

So they were going back into Brooklyn and back and fall to Chinatown, right? So it was easy. So we wound up closing on a multiple pattern. And they were bad guys. Because back then, I'll never forget, you know, you do like the background checks. Two guys did like serious time in China. And I'll never forget. There was one guy, he was like 5, 7, 5, 5, 8, but he was like solid.

And we strip searched them. This fucking guy had tattoos from his neck to his feet. You know, like in the movies? Yeah. And he was silent. I'm like, this is a scary motherfucker. And, but yeah, they were bad guys. And lucky enough, we got the arrest and we did all right.

How old were you at that point? Uh, probably 31, maybe, around there. Were you pretty, I guess, built up mentally to see, to seeing some of the stuff that you would see by that point like that? Yeah, yeah, pretty much. What was the sentiment towards cops at that period of time? Right. Back then it wasn't bad. because, well, for me, it wasn't bad in that area.

The public was pretty, they were pretty cop-friendly and stuff like that. Like, they would take care of you. And what was good is, especially working that area for a while, the people that were there, like their street friends, like the food, you know, street vendors or whatever, once you got to know them, they would tell you who's coming in because a lot of kids from the projects would come and rob the old Chinese ladies or the old men

because they would always carry big cash on them. And they would tell you when they're coming into the neighborhood. Because, you know, I'd give my phone a bra and say, listen, something that happens, give me a call. And they would call. And it was cool. Now, when you moved to the crime aspect, what was that like? It was really good because I'm working and playing clothes. I get to drive the area, you know, and I got to learn the area different, especially at night.

At night, there's a lot of underground clubs in Chinatown, a lot of big celebrity clubs, all types of shit. So we would get to work those areas and hang out by the clubs and get to see all this stuff. And you got to, you know, make a lot of nights of rest. Now, how do those operate those clubs? And is it legal? No, yeah, all the clubs were legal back then. You know, they had, I'm sure, they had the gambling spots too, but we didn't really mess with them too much.

It was we would mostly, so in a crime, I'm sure, you know, like they got the five majors, like robbery, murder, you know, all the good stuff. So that's what we would focus on. Were there ever any, like, stickups on the card games or anything like that or the gambling? Oh, yeah, there was a stick up. So right around two blocks away from the precinct. organized crime, Asian crime, went in there one time and yeah, they stuck up the whole place, blindfold everything,

took all that fucking money and everything else. And we never found them. And do those people report the crime? No, so old agents, they don't call the cops. They deal with themselves the old way. So how did you guys find out about that? We wind up getting a call from 911. And then by the time we got them figured things out, it was done.

Now, the public back then, are they say, nosy or like willing to report crimes they're witnessing? Or are people kind of just like, you know, in today's world, sometimes you see a crime happen, people turn their head their other way. Are they doing that back then? The Asians don't want any part of you. It was like bad luck to deal with us. They didn't want it. But like in part of Chinatown, you have, you know, borderline Soho.

It's like all the white people and all the yuppies and those guys would report it. But as far as like the Asians, nah, they don't want to fuck with you. Now, even though you were working plain clothes, you weren't a detective yet. You were just a... I was just a cop, yeah. And would your shifts change every day like the hours? Well, we would change depending on the crime patterns in the area. So say my boss, my lieutenant or captain would say, hey, we have robberies at, like, say, 2 in the morning to 4 in the morning.

So then they would change us from like 6 to 2s or 12 to 8s or whatever else to just address that area. How was leadership back then? It was good. Let me tell you, I loved it. in the beginning. It was good. I had a lot of fun. We made a lot of morning. We did good things. Was there a lot of overtime to? Yeah. Oh, especially down there. There was a lot of overtime down there. I see now that they're kind of starting to cut it? Well, they're trying to. I see the mayor. He's trying to cut a handful of what everything is going on, which is bad, but you'll see what

happens. Isn't it hard to do when there's a shortage of cops? Yeah, it's very hard to do. Do you remember how many cops there were in the city at that time versus now? So, yeah, there was about 30,000. So right now there's definitely, less. You're probably maybe 23, 24,000 right now. So that's like... It's huge. Yeah, that's like 15, 20% drop. It's very huge because you have a lot of experience guys that left. So now you have all these younger guys that don't know how to be a cop.

And like for me, it was different. I never wore a camera. So guys that wear cameras and they're like fucking robots because they got to be careful what they're going to say and everybody else taping them and doing this and that. Back then, if you told somebody, get the fuck out of here, it was different. Today you can't do that. You can't even say that. You got to be careful. No, because there'll be some fucking idiot on a sidewalk taping you.

And then, oh, look at this cop. You said, get the fuck out of here to, you know, this young kid. Why? And then, you know, then you got an issue. What do you think was the best lesson you learned in your career early on? Like maybe from a superior or a colleague? You know, treat everybody the same because you don't know their story. Everybody has a story.

Treat everybody the same. even no matter what. But, you know, you get, sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. You get your bad days like anybody else, you know. Would you ever witness wrongdoing by other cops, or was that limited at the time? I had a few instances where I've seen a couple things happen, and, you know, you kind of just, you stay away from it, you know, because there's bad people in every profession. You just stay away from them.

Even if it's against your morals? If it's something real major, I would have said something, but like a little bullshit, yeah. Do you feel like most people will have the morals to report something if they see it? Today, yes, because there's a million fucking cameras all over the place. So they have no choice, you know. Now, when do you be, where do you go after? So I go from Chinatown to Brooklyn. And so in the police department, they're called boroughs, right?

You know, all the different boroughs. Brooklyn is Brooklyn North and Brooklyn South. And in Manhattan, it's the same thing. Manhattan, North, and Manhattan South. So for me, I went to Brooklyn North. Brooklyn North covers East New York, Brownsville, Crown Heights, all the Bushwick, Williamsburg, covers all the busy areas. What was that like?

It was an eye-opener because I remember the first, so the building is in a disclosed area because it was all detectives or narcotics guys. And I went there with, I think, six or seven years on. And I thought I was a, you know, hey, I was a crime cop. I knew what I'm doing. I go there. It was a different ballgame.

So I was in like the minor leagues Over there I went to the major leagues Why do you think it was so different? The crime area, the cops Just different animal man They were real cops, real cops I felt like I became more like a real cop Once I started working there

So do they not assign rookies to that area then? No, so they assign the rookies to that area In certain precincts But I wound up going to Midtown South Because I didn't want to go to a shit hole But I probably should have in the beginning This episode is brought to you by Gold Drop Seltzer and this is when I actually drink.

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The first day I go in there, I asked somebody, hey, where can I get a coffee? They go, dude, not over here, you're not. And I'm like, what? And then I didn't understand that because in Manhattan, I can fucking go anywhere. So I go to Brooklyn, and then I'll never forget we're in a car and we're going through like a drive-to.

We went to get lunch or whatever. And my boss is like, yo, turn the fucking radio down. Like, you know, a department. So I'm like, what? Like, I didn't understand. He was turning the fucking radio down. They're going to fucking put a car.

class in your hamburger or spitting your food. So I go, oh, okay. Oh, just if they recognize you as cops. If, like, when you're going through a drive-thru, it's in, you know, you order in your food, and your radio was up and they knew it was a cop, they're fucking spitting your food. And so you were plain clothes?

Yeah, all plain clothes. Wow. And did you guys ever catch anyone doing that? No. No, but you wind up learning quick. So I guess these individuals weren't people that would report other crime or anything. Think about it. You got all young kids working in those places.

cops, they fucking hated us. What type of crime would you witness there? So I was in a narcotics division. So I basically focused on anything narcotics and firearms related. And that's what we did. So what happens is when you first go to narcotics, they put you in what's called as a module. A module is an area where you'll cover.

So I covered the 7.5% and that's 7.3, which is East New York and Brownsville. And we just focused on low-level like primaries that, you know, sold drugs. Now, do you work strictly off referrals, or are you guys going to find it? So what happens is, too. So in narcotics, you get what's called is a kite. A kite is a 911 or somebody just calling random that say, hey, 100 Sutter Street,

they're dealing drugs at an apartment 2B. So then you would get that kite and investigate it. And you would say, okay, let's do that kite, and we'll just, we'll start from, A, who lives there? what are the hours, what's going on? And then you would go out and just hang out and watch and see if you saw anything. Now, what if it turns out to be someone like low level

that may be picked up and they're just trying to push it off? Just lock them up. If you see an observation of a hand-to-hand, you fucking grab them. Even if they're low-level? Yeah, it didn't matter. Trust me, I've done it all. And do you think that's good for the system or bad for the system?

I think it's good because it's like going back to the Giuliani days. There was a thing they used to call a broken windows dairy. So the broken windows theory is what? You stop the low-level crimes so it doesn't get to their big-level crimes. And it's true. Back then, did they still have the, what was it, the stop and frisk? Yeah. Can you explain that what that was?

So stop question or fix was a tool that the NYPD had that if you stopped somebody, it gives you the levels of suspicion on where you can go. But what happened, so if you, so say you see a guy walking down a block and you see a bulge on his right side. And it looks like a gun, right? and you stop him and you start talking to him. And then if you see him doing certain things or if you see a little more of that bolts, then you can grab him.

And you would fill out that form. And it would help you with your paperwork later on. Do you think that was beneficial? I think it was, but what happens is guys abused it. So anytime they stop somebody, they would fucking just fill it out. And say the poor guy is going to school in the morning, he's going to work. And just because, like, he's a young black kid or a Spanish kid in that area,

they're stopping them. fucking putting them on paper. It's not used for that. You got to use it for what it's really there for. And guys abused it. And that's why, you know, certain guys got in trouble because they were doing stupid shit. And then that's what happened. Do you think there was a lot of profiling going on back then?

I think it depends. So, you know what it is? It depends on what area you work. That's the thing. So, like, for me, when I did a car in East New York, it's predominantly black and Spanish. So they're going to tell me because I'm a white cop, oh, you're profiling me. But not really what, that's all that's there. But then if you work in different areas, you're dealing with different clientele.

You know what I mean? So it all depends. How would they treat you as a white cop in those areas? Good and bad. You know, I had good times. It mostly bad. You know, it all depends because they would single you out, you know. But on my team, I had a lot of different guys.

One thing about narcotics, we had everything. We had black, Spanish, Asian, fucking anything you can possibly imagine. So it was good if I'm driving with a black guy or, you know, wherever. And we, you know, you were trying to adjust. How long are you in Brooklyn for? A little over nine years. And did you become a detective in Brooklyn? Yeah.

So what happens is I went there as a cop. You go on an investigative track for 18 months. And then I became a detective. Okay. And what happens once you become a detective? What changes in your routine? Well, you pay, obviously. You pay changes.

And it's a little more status. So there's no difference in pay between street clothes and regular clothes? No, no. Or cop clothes? There's a always, there's a different. in a cop shield and a detective shield, and it's just to pay. That's a little more prestigious. Okay. So once you become a detective, do you remember what that, you know, first time on the job was like as a detective? Well, so in order to be detective and narcotics, we had to do certain

things to become a detective. So we had to do a certain number of search warrants, some certain number of arrests, and we also had to establish a CI, which is a confidential informant. We had to get those as well. And once we're able to do that, then we become, you know, in narcotics at that time. And then, you know, I became a detective and it kind of eased up a little bit. Oh, so you have to bring your own CI once you become a detective? No, you got to establish them. You got to establish it.

You got to work, man. You know, you got to work back then. It was like that. How do you establish one? So it's just by the guys you lock up, you talk to them. So say you lock up a guy and he's got a couple bundles. A bundle is a thing of heroin. Usually, like, it's a bunch of glass scenes in a pack.

We used to call bundles. So what happens is say you got a guy, he's got five bundles on him, on a car stop. So you're like, oh, where the fuck's he getting? He doesn't look like a dope head. Where's he getting it, right? So you would talk to him. And what happens is you would talk to him and say, listen, you can make money. So a CI can make a lot of money.

I've seen guys make thousands. So you just like, listen, you give us information in somebody that has drugs or guns. You can get paid. And some guys would do it. Some guys wouldn't. But when they become a CI, there's rules. Like, you can't still go get fucking around and get, you know, high and get arrested because then you'll get deactivated.

But if they're a good CI, it's great. Now, what happens to their charges once you make them a CI? Once you make them a CI, if they get arrested for something like little, like bullshit, like a trespass or like a C-summins, they could kind of work it off. But if it's something major, they get arrested for, like, a robbery or something like that, then they just get deactivated. Because what happens is when they sign, they have to sign a contract. with the police department when they become a CI.

So if they void that contract, that's it. But what about the initial charges and the moment you make them a CI? Because if they've got caught with something. So what happens is once you get arrested, you're going to have a court date. So you've got to tell them, listen, don't get in trouble until your court date's done.

Once your court date's done and they charge you with an ROR or probation, then you're fine. But if they give you time, when you get out, that's when you call me and then we'll go from there. Oh, so you can't go to the prosecutor and just get the whole thing tossed. So, uh-uh. Okay. But I'll give you a great story.

Yeah. So a guy gets locked up in Brooklyn and he was a serious guy, very serious guy. And he got locked up for big drugs. And they called my office. I happen to be working and my boss goes, do me fair, we'll interview this guy. It's all right. So I sit down with him and he gives me information that was unbelievable. Guys with guns and heavy weight.

I said, okay. So I go to court the next day with his case. I present his information and we do what's called as a proffer. A proffer is when you work off your time and you're not getting paid. And I wanted to have having this guy and told him, so I retired. I used him for everything. And he was a serious killer. Serious dude, man. And let me tell you, he was, he knew his shit. And every information I... What's the difference between... between butter and butter made from real California dairy?

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Never got blown. He gave me information in regards to a female. I'm not going to tell you where, but she lived across the street from a precinct, and she was getting a kilo. He gave me that information.

I wound up sitting there. I wound up grabbing her. She had no fucking idea. And when I walked her into the precinct, it wouldn't even drive her. She was one of the heaviest fucking deals in Queens. And when I walked her from her

fucking her house into the precinct. The commanding officer couldn't believe it. But don't some of these people that get arrested say like her, can't she put the pieces together of who, you know, snitch them out? So what happens is the CI is a number. It's not a name. So you're never going to. Eventually, maybe long, long term, you can probably find out, but they're registered

as a number. I'm sure if a defense has a good enough attorney, they'll find out. But back then she had no idea. And do you believe in that process of not being? To a certain point. You know, to a certain point I do. Now, what about when you retire, what happens to that CI, it gets past to someone else? So what happens is you could pass it off to somebody or you just deactivate them.

I deactivated them. And does anyone ever get paid to be a CI? Yeah, it paid big money. So you remember the gun stoppers? You ever hear of gun stoppers? I'm in the city? No. So say you gave me information of a guy with a gun.

So I would call that tip and say, John Smith gave me information of Jose, whatever, Rodriguez, has a gun. and say you sort and you said, hey, it's a silver handgun, blah, blah, blah. I saw it yesterday. So I said, okay. So I call in the tip and say, hey, this is the information I got, blah, blah, blah. They'll give me a tip number. If I make that arrest and he's got that gun, you get paid $1,000. Cash or is it?

Cash. It just takes time. It takes about a month. NYPD does that. As a detective, how many tips do you think you were getting a day? So I bounced around as a detective in narcotics. I did regular street stuff. I did major cases and then I did overdoses as well.

So we would get tips all over. How many cases? How many tips? I would say on a week basis, maybe five, six a week. Oh, that's it. Yeah. It's not that many. No, not that many.

And out of those, how many do you think actually pull through? I'd say half. But it also depends on a detective, too. right it's like any other job if a guy wants to work and do the right thing he can he go find it guys are sometimes are lazy because they're overwhelmed they want to go home now are you assigned a partner a team oh you get assigned a team okay and how many people are and then usually like could be anywhere from seven to ten guys and when you leave for the day does work ever really leave or is it constantly it depends on where you are so when I was doing the major case stuff

no I just get phone calls all the time all the time Do you remember one of your first major cases? I got a funny story. So one of my, I think he was like my second partner. He was a young kid. And he has a case in Brooklyn and Williamsburg. And he goes, so we would have to do what's called his observations. You would have to go to a location, watch it, see if there's drug activity.

If there's not, whatever. And then you documented on when you were there and what you did. So we go to court and we'll leave. and he goes, hey, I want to just stop at this spot. So I'm like, yeah, no problem. So it was the projects. So you had to walk into the courtyard. So we're two fucking white guys, right?

So we had both construction boots, and we had like jackets. So I'm like, let's fucking make-believe work, inspecting a building. You know, we had, and then we put hard ads on. Shit, as soon as we come through the fucking courtyard, there's a bunch of dudes in front of his building. And his target apartment was the first apartment on the floor. So we seen him. I see the apartment.

So I'm like, dude, don't stop. Just let's walk to the roof and walk down. So we walk to the roof, we walk down. And as soon as we're going up, I hear the guy sitting in the hallway on the first floor, like seeing where the fuck we were going. So I'm like, just go to the roof. Because if they see a stop at an apartment,

I'm like, what the fuck are these guys doing? So we come down, we leave. We're halfway back to my office. My boss calls. Hey, where are you guys? We're like, we'll be at the office in another 10 minutes. He goes, there was a shooting. We go where?

And he goes, my buddy's case. So I said, what? I said, we were just fucking there like 10 minutes ago. He goes, there was a fucking shooting, his apartment, and like a robbery. So we get the fuck out of here. So we rush over there, crime scene, the whole nine yards, fucking guys laying in his target apartment, in a doorway full of blood.

We walk in, there's fucking drugs everywhere. So I go, what was the script? They're like two black guys, blah, blah, blah. I go, no. I go, there was two fucking Spanish guys. And this is what they were wearing. Boom, boom, boom. I said, those were you two guys.

And it was legit. Why do you think they said black guys? Did someone call on a false tip? People are fucking stupid. So what happens is in a heated moment, you know, guys, you know, they get flustered. That's what happens. So do you ever find the people that did it? Oh, yeah, we found everything.

We found everything in a long time. Now, in a place like New York City where there's so many cameras, is it really possible to pull off anything like this successfully? Yes and no. So during like right after COVID, it was real bad. Everybody's wearing a mask. So in the Bronx especially, these fucking kids were wearing masks, hats on scooters with no fucking plate. And they're doing robberies and shootings. And you're not catching them, man, unless you really follow them.

You can follow them to a certain point, but eventually it's going to cut. Wait, like on one of those like a city bikes or so? Those fucking scooters. Oh, the electric ones? Electric scooters. They were doing robberies on those? They were doing like crazy. They would be all gun guys.

They're all carrying guns and fucking robbing guys and doing all types of shootings. They don't go that fast though. Yeah, but if you're in a Bronx and it's fucking rush hour, you're moving and a car's not going to get you. Now, back in the detective days, was it hard to pull camera footage from, say, other businesses like a bodega or anything like that? Yeah, to a certain point because they're not going to get you. didn't want to help you. So the one good thing is in NYPD they have what's called is August cameras. We used to call them August. And there cameras that are always in a on a street light or a corner. And you'll see them all over the city. So those cameras have 24 hour access. So we could pull those cameras.

Today, the guys could look on that camera on the phone if you really want to follow somebody. Oh, as a cop? Yeah. Just a regular cop. You could just call that. So regular cop has a department cell phone, just like iPhone, me and you. And you could pull up that case. I mean, you can pull up that camera. You just got to find a number or know the corner. And you pull up that camera and you could do a live feed. Was it hard to navigate all of that? No, I was easy.

You just got to notice certain dates and times. And you can figure out. But even that and with the trains, the train's the same thing. There's cameras everywhere in the city, everywhere. Now, you mentioned in that story you were disguised as workers. Do you guys use disguises a lot? Yeah, we used to. But for me, it was hard because I'm a white guy working in these fucking predominantly black

and Spanish stainboards. So for me, it was hard. But I worked with a team of guys. There were all different colors and shapes and sizes. And plus, we had undercovers. We had undercovers that you wouldn't even know. That looked like fucking half of the guys on your wall. What was the funniest disguise you think you guys ever used?

Oh, I got, so sanitation. I used to do sanitation a lot. Doors sanitation sweatshirt on and pants. That's actually pretty good if you ride around. For me, it was good because they wouldn't look at me. Do you guys go through a lot of people's garbage and stuff, or is that hard to do in the city? No, you wouldn't really go too garbage. Nah.

You just do a lot of observations. You watch. You watch spots. It would probably be hard to associate that with a specific apartment, right? Yeah. Because it all just gets thrown out on the street. Well, in buildings, mostly it's also incinerators. So you're not going to do that.

I was just watching the show task with Mark Ruffalo and the guys that were robbing the drug houses were disguised as garbage men going through the garbages to see how much weight they were pushing and stuff. It's crazy. It's really interesting. Yeah, it's good stuff. So what are some other good stories from the job that you had as a detective? In narcotics, I did a lot of cool things. I did regular low-level street investigations, and I went into long-term investigations

with guns and drugs, and then I did overdoses. Overdoses was a crazy thing because at the time when I was there, there was a lot of overdoses all over the city. And we used to get guys, I would watch video guys walking into an area coming out, fucking shooting a dope, and then dying right there.

And we would see it all the time. So that was interesting stuff. But we did a few overdose cases that wind up turning into a wire case. And a wire case is going up on somebody's phones and everything else. And that was like a year, year and a half long-term case.

And then we wind up blocking up a million guys and going fed. And then when you do the Fed, I'm sure, you know, as you know, there's no fucking wiggle room. And guys would shit because we'd be taking them to transport. And then when you pull into the Fed bill and they would go, what the fuck? And then they would start panicking. How often are you referring a case, the drug cases to the feds? So the feds don't take everything.

So what happens is say you have a case and you would say, hey, I have X, Y, and Z. They would review it. And if they feel that it's going to get conviction, they would take it. So I would try all the time. because with the feds it was better for us. Easier. A lot easier. Because it's off your plate.

It's a lot easier. And they put guys away for a long time. There's no bullshit with the feds. So you liked working with the feds? Oh, I loved it. I loved it. Because in the state, you lock it up a guy for, fucking, say, a kilo.

And what happens? He gets out a year. And the feds, big difference. Big difference. Especially if you go up on a wire, they'll fucking hit 10 guys with a conspiracy and you're doing 10 years. And that's straight.

How often were you arresting someone and they'd get bail right away because of the laws? All the time. We used to joke around all the time. I would say, you're going to be home before I fucking end the tour. That's crazy. We used to joke around all the time. And you would bust them again? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

How did you feel about that system? I fucking hated it. I hated it. That was the, what was that, like the cashless bail system? Yeah, it's just that if they didn't have a big record, they would fucking let them loose. And it's terrible. Would you ever go to Rikers yourself? Yeah, I've done a lot of interviews in Rikers.

Rangers is a scary place, let me tell you. Yeah, what's your perspective? So I've done interviews and Rikers, plenty of them. And you'd hear that fucking alarm go off a thousand fucking times. And I hate it. Because say I'm in a room like smaller than this, you talk to a guy trying to get information, and all your ears,

and that's going off. This guy's scared to fucking death already. And then now a guy see him talking to me. and then he's hearing this fucking alarm. You'd think I'm going to get any information? You know? Rangers is fucked up because we used to do transports there too and they used to even treat us like shit.

I didn't like that place at all. What do you mean by transports? So say we would take guys from court or getting arrested and we would call them what's called his court ready. They're ready to go to go to the island because they were ready to convict, you know, sentence or convicted or whatever. And then we just bring them to the island for transports. Those guys treated us like shit all the time.

Now, when you arrest someone and they don't get bail, is it your job to bring them to the island? No, so depending on which borough, you arrest them in. You would arrest them and they would lodge them and then they would do it there. Because there's a corrections part. There used to be. I don't know so much anymore. There was always corrections in every central booking, depending on which borough. And how long could you hold someone in there for?

They could be there for two days, three days. Okay. All depends. But if they go to the hospital, everything stops. So that's another thing, too. So if guy says I feel sick, you're fucking going to the hospital, send him until he's better. What are the conditions like in the jail holdings and the precincts? So out of all the brothers, I never experienced Staten Island.

Queens was the best. Brooklyn and the Bronx were the same. It was pretty shitty. Manhattan was so-so. Now, from the whole criminal process, once you arrest the person, like you do a undercover bust on them, you book them. Do you follow the whole legal process? You can if you want to, depending if you want to see where he's going. Does the DA utilize you in trials or anything like that or no?

They might. They might not. It all depends. Have you ever been a part of one? Yeah, I've been a part of a few of them. So they would say, hey, you know, this guy got arrested and this is what he's got. But I think he might be connected to this. So I would say, okay.

And then I would start a case on him and just observe him and then go take it further. And then do you actually go to the trial and testify? Yeah, absolutely. What was that experience like for you? It was great. But then when they see you, they're fucking, their heart drops. Went on the stand? Yeah, absolutely.

How did you feel of like criminal defense attorneys when they're questioning you, trying to make you maybe like the bad guy? Trust me, I've been on a stand for four or five hours at one time, fucking ready to, you know, kill myself. They want to get the anger out, right? Yeah, it was funny too because, you know, being Italian, I use my hands a lot, talking. I don't know if I get, my guy was like, listen, put your hands underneath your

their legs so you don't look so aggressive. Because, you know, when you're trying to portray something, you don't want to look like an aggressive cop, right? But that's just my nature. That's the way I grew up. So he would tell me, just put your fucking hands on underneath your thighs. And I would laugh all the time. What was your view on, let's say, criminal defense attorneys?

I think some guys were good. Some guys were bad. It all depends. Like the big dealers that I've locked up, there was one. I'll never forget him. And he had all the big dealers. There was one defense attorney.

And he had them all. and he was a fucking jerk off. He was a piece of shit. He just wanted the money. Because, you know, these guys all paying him cash. But he was an asshole. Did you ever have a case where you went that far, the trial and everything, and they got off?

Yeah. Actually, back when I was in Chinatown, I got another good story. Yeah. Why, you're making my... We're going back Memory Lane. I'm doing my job right then. Yeah, this is good.

So, yeah, I got a good one. When I was in Chinatown doing crime. at night and they used to be a cub on Bowery and used to be called Boulevard. It was a big nightclub. So me, one of my partners was sitting not too far from it. And there's like a divider that goes in the middle, right? We see a guy make a U-turn on a divider. I go, this guy's fucking drunk.

Let's, you know, stop him. So we stop him. And there was three young black kids in there. And the kid that was driving, he was just all over the place. And the other two were silent. And it was just fucking, I had like a spooky feeling, right? And it was just me and one other guy. And the cop I was working with, it wasn't really like a street guy.

He was like a kind of a nerdy guy, right? So we go back and I said, Mike, I said, what do you want to do? And he said, oh, you know, if it's an arrest, I don't want it. Because you would always talk to your partner. You want to make a collar? No, yes, no. He's like, no, no. And I couldn't arrest because I had to move the next thing.

So I called my lieutenant and he had a guy with him. So I said, yo, come to this location. We got a call with three guys, blah, blah, blah. Make a long story short, they come. We rip everybody out of the car. And what do we see in the back? It was an expedition. I'll never forget.

Fucking loaded gun right there on the floor. All right, cool. I couldn't take the arrest. I give it to the lieutenant's driver. We go back. So on the reports, you know, you write, I observe, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The guy that was his signing arrest

writes he observed it. And I said, yo, don't fucking do that, bro. I said, there's cameras everywhere. And make a long story short, we go to court. I get interviewed. The guys get locked up. We go to court. He's talking to the DA.

The DAX is my information. He goes, Jimmy, what happens? I tell him. He goes, you observed everything? I said, yeah. This is what I observed. X, Y, and Z. He goes, okay.

And I see something was not right. So I leave. The arresting cop calls me. Yo, why did you do that? I go, are you fucking out of your mind? I said, no, it's not worth it. I said, don't do. I said, I don't work like that.

So guess what? Go down the line. Case goes to trial. I'm on the fucking stand. I don't know. Hours. So, out of all three guys, they each had an attorney. They're asking me questions.

He asked me questions. Guess what? Case gets thrown out because of the cop that lied. They wound up finding out he lied. He winds up getting fired. case get thrown out. Now, does that cop get arrested? No, he got forced to just resign.

Do you think that happened a lot back in the day? I don't know, maybe 50-50. But the only reason why it happens is because of me. Because I said, yo, I don't fucking work like that. But that was a real bad experience. And those guys all got off. I'm not saying they were real bad guys, but they were bad enough. What are they doing a load of a fucking gun in the car?

Yeah, they were guilty in that. situation. They were guilty. Now, do you ever fear of, say, retaliation after something like that? I did. So I got another funny story for you. When I first became coppeda, my first year, I lived in Manhattan at the time. And I get off to 6 train at 96th Street. I lived close by to there. And I'm walking. Somebody fucking taps me in my shoulder. I turn around. The guy goes, hey, officer. I'm in regular coast. I said, hey, hey, doing? And I didn't, couldn't figure him out at first. And he says, oh, I just want to say hello.

And I left it. I'm thinking, I'm like, what the fuck? That scared the shit out of me. That scared me. Even though New York City is so big, do you recognize a lot of people? Oh, yeah. So I've worked in different boroughs in certain guys that I dealt with. Just going to a store.

They'll say, hey, detective. Oh, absolutely. I bumped into people all over the place. That's why. My face is very recognizable. So guys recognize me all the time. And your voice, too. Yeah, guys recognize.

recognize me. But, you know, I try to treat a lot of people fair. And most guys I treated were pretty good. You know, I had a couple instances where it's been crazy. But for the most part, I treated people pretty decent. Did you ever have a point where you felt like your life was in danger on a job? So, yeah, actually, not that it was danger. So I've been involved in a shooting incident in a Bronx. I was in a Bronx a few years. And I was in an overdose unit out there. So we're partner mine and we were in the confines of the four one and we were going to get video it's in the summertime sitting on a corner and uh it's pretty hot out see two guys coming jackets i'm like nah i'm like no way dude i'm like these guys are gonna shoot so they come up to the

corner they make the right so now we were in an umar car and they didn't even know who we were we were in like a kea they fucking had no idea and uh so i pull up just to Watch them. Sure, shit. They walk. Maybe 100 feet. They both pull out. They shoot it. This is crazy. They shoot at some fucking poor bastard on a push scooter. And he was an older man. They didn't hit him. I don't know how. They must have let five, six rounds go. I go, holy shit. I ripped a corner. I start chasing one guy. Guy fucking, and he was, I didn't realize it until I looked at the video afterwards. He was one car from me. He turns around. Boom, boom, boom, boom. let's loose at my car.

So I go, holy shit. So I stopped the car. Me and my partner fucking look at each other. And what's funny is we didn't have a radio. Normally you go over the radio, right? We just went out to get a bullshit video.

Like, we weren't going to do police work. And our vests were in the fucking backseat. We didn't even have our vests on. So luckily, my partner at the time, he was smart enough. He calls not. So when you call 911, it's called Central.

He calls Central and says, hey, uh, detective so-and-so, I'm on this block, you know, shooting just a car, blah, blah, blah,

but-p-p-p-pah. Okay, cool. So make a long story short, he lets a couple rounds go. He takes off. We follow him. We see the building he goes in. We stop.

We call some more people. Get into the building, find out what apartment, find him, find the gun, everything. And, uh, that was a crazy incident.

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Have no idea. And in the same week, I'm in the Bronx, and this is another high crime area. It was Fordham and Webster. It was the one or five two precinct. And same thing, summer day, hanging out with my partner, just bullshitting. We hear pop, pop, pop, pop.

We go, what the fuck? Here over the radio, sudden, such car. It was one of those train arms. You know, it had one wheel and the two wheels on the back. Guy takes off, moving around. So we said, all right, fuck, we'll just drive around. See if we see the car. Oh, shit, we see the car parked.

It's not all right. So we get out, we try. There was a church. I'll never forget. That's how we got the video. We go into the church. We get the video. Guess what?

The guy walks into the fucking building next door. So I'm like, yo, fuck this. Let's go into the building. Walking up the stairs. I hit the second or third. floor. Guess who's coming down? He happened to come walking down. So he says, hey, officers, how you doing? I said,

hey, what's up, man? So I let him get close enough as soon as he got close enough, fucking wrapped him up. Wrapped him up, searched him. He'd have nothing on him. We'd come back outside. The gun was on the fucking tire right there. Wow. Yeah. Do you think New York City is a safe

place to live? I think depends where. Right now, no. Absolutely not. Why do you say that? The crime is crazy right now. It's a high crime area. They try to portray it like it's not, but it's bullshit. Their crime's crazy. I mean, don't they say there's like a shooting that happens every day?

There's a lot of shootings. There was a shooting that just happened on a train. I don't know if you saw on the news. There was a train going one way. They happened to looking out the little window, and there was a guy on a platform fucking shoots another guy, right in their chest, kills him right there. Or daylight.

Do you think that the subways are safe or now? Absolutely not. I wouldn't take them, and I carry a gun. Now, like, when I go to the city, I went on a couple times. Everyone's just packed in there like salines. Too many people. Yeah.

How could an officer even respond to something that... It's hard. You have to. You know, you try. You do your best. But it's very hard. The crime area is insane. Early on in your career,

do you think they were safer or do you think it's... It was a lot safer. Because when I first got on, who was the mayor, I think Giuliani was the mayor. And he, you know, used to stop a lot of people for petty crimes. Today, it's different.

It's very different. Most of the cops are scared to death to stop somebody. because they think they're going to get in trouble. So it sucks. So do you think safety in New York City relates directly to the officials running the city? Oh, absolutely, because the law's changed. Absolutely, it relates. Do you think it goes all the way up to the governor's level or just strictly the city?

No, absolutely goes to the governor. Absolutely. Have you seen a lot of cops leave because of these types of things you're talking about? Within the last few years. So when I joined the academy, we had a class of 1,500 and they all just retired. That's one year. And the mayor just talked about he's not putting in a class. He's trying to take money back.

I saw that. So you have 1,500 guys leaving, say, 2026. You're not putting any cops back. So what happens is back then there was 1,500, 1,500. So say there's 3,000 in a year. You're not hiring any cops and say 2,000 of those cops retired. That's a problem. What do you think was the biggest issue?

had with the department as time went on, if there was any? So I don't know if you're familiar with the CCRB system. CCRB is when somebody makes a complaint against the cop. I think that's a big problem, that whole system. How does that work? So what happens is to say you made a complaint against me that I said, go fuck yourself, I use profanity, abusive power and all the stuff. You have some idiot interviewing you that was from fucking Ohio.

that has no idea of the New York network or the communities. And now he's taking somebody else's side. And then that poor cop is getting blamed for some bullshit. And then what happens is that guy that works at CCRB could say he's guilty or not guilty. But if he's guilty, then that poor cop gets taken days away from him. And then that sucks. When you get out a lot of, or in general, where there are a lot of complaints made against cops because there's so big of a population?

And my unit, not so much. Like, when I was in narcotics, not so much. You know, you would get your basic complaints, but not too much, not the guys I dealt with. Maybe in other areas, but I don't know about me. Now, in a narcotics unit like yours where there's, like, say, six guys. Is it like what we see in the movies? You got the whiteboard. You're all hanging around, watching.

And we used to watch cops all the time in the office. We used to laugh at all the balls off. But one of the cool thing was, do you ever see the show The Wire? No, I have to see. It's on my list. Watch the Wire. The warrior is the closest thing to where a major case narcotics team works. It's the closest thing and it's real good.

What do you think is the most resemblance about it? Because I'm sure there's a lot of people. So a cop made that show. And I think he was a former narcotics guy. The way they do everything, as far as like their attack meetings, the way they do street work, the way they do their investigations, stuff like that. It's very, very accurate.

Now, do detectives brush paths or like, I guess, have confrontations with other cops? Like, is there at the already issues? Sure, absolutely. So, for instance, so in the department, you have different units, right? You have the narcotics. You got auto crime. You got guys that do finance shit.

And then we have other big teams. We have airport teams. LaGuardia team. We have a Kennedy team. Then we have Fed teams. So you get guys all over. So say I lock up fucking whoever and say he's a CI for a Fed team. That guy is going to say, hey, I'm a CI.

for whoever. And then you're like, who? And then if you call that guy and say, yeah, he's my CI. And then you're like, dude, I just fucking lock this guy up for two kilos or doing a, you know, a sale to an undercover. And, you know, you could go back and forth with them. Because there's so many cops and it's such a big city, do you ever run into, say, like, other undercovers, not knowing they're an undercover?

Oh, absolutely. How do you guys, like, mark yourself or no? So in Narcotics Division, when you have a meeting and you're going to, going out for undercovers. So in NYPD, there's not many undercovers. So when you're in a division like narcotics, you get to learn who the undercovers are. And all the big units kind of know each other. So you can say, you'll kind of make a phone call. Say, hey, Jimmy, I'm going to be in the 7-5-73 today. Say, oh, okay, you got a team out? Yeah, I got a team out. And we're going to be out there from 12 to 5. And you say, okay, cool. And then we'll go another area. Because you don't want

that to happen, God forbid. So usually before guys would go out, we would have a tack meeting and say, you would say, okay, we're doing X, Y, and Z. And these are the two undercovers. You would get to see them. Because God forbid, you're on the street and you don't know who it is. You fucking tackle that guy. That shit happens.

Now, the drugs and the cash that you guys bust, what happens to it? Where does it go? It all gets vouchered. Everything gets vouched. And what do you mean by that? So what happens is, you say, I lock up a guy and he's got 30,000 on them. You take it and you voucher it. It goes in a property envelope and then you voucher it and then you give the guy a receipt

and then you take your records. So he can't say I had $60,000 or $80,000 and that's how you do it. And with the drugs, everything gets counted. Everything, you know, everything is itemized. Now, and how many of those cases do you think that actual individual gets the money back? Very rare. It depends on how you put the property. So that's another thing.

So as a detective, for me, I put everything arrest for property. because I don't want to deal with any bullshit so they don't get that money back until their case is over. Most of the time they don't. Now, if a guy proves that, say, he pulled that money out of a bank legitimately or cashed a paycheck,

do you guys take it still in that moment and let the courts figure it out? Most of the time. Oh, wow. I would. Me personally, yeah. So that person would get jammed up. I would let them fucking deal with it.

Wow. Yeah. So they could lose that money for months or years. They could. But so if a guy has $100 on them or less, you can let him have that $100. Okay. Anything more, you would have to voucher it as property and they can come back.

But say that guy had $2,000 on him. I'll let him keep $100. And if he was good, then I would say personal property. And then he could pick it up when he's done. So what about, say, like on the stop and frisk days, they pulled out $10,000 from the bank and they looked shady or whatever and they got stopped and you found that money, what would happen? You would have to voucher it. You'd have to voucher it.

You would have to take it from them? You don't have to. It depends. So on the stopping fist days, depending. Is he getting arrested or no? If he's not getting arrested. No. Okay.

It's only if he's getting arrested. Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. You could take the money as a dick, but nah, I wouldn't. I wouldn't do that to him. Now, did you ever as a detective work like special events for overtime or anything like that? Yeah, I did a million.

You know what we used to do? There used to be an event in Randall's Island. Oh. Electric Zoo. Yeah, you did electric. Oh, do you have any good electric zoo stories? Because there was crazy stuff there. That we used to joke around.

I was like fish in a barrel. Yeah. So we would have worked those events, and they would say, all right, we're looking for, say, eight arrests. All right, cool, no problem. As a white guy, it's fucking great. You put on one of those stupid T-shirts, you stand, and you know how many people would come over? Hey, you want pills, you want pills? You fucking lock up eight people in 10 minutes.

Wow. Yeah. So you would just wear, like, regular rave clothes or whatever? Yeah. But you were kind of older, right? So when people... They're fucking retarded. Because they're all, like, high and stuff.

Idiots. Wasn't there an issue with like either cops or they were corrupt or something happened? So this is what happened. Narcotics team out of Manhattan goes there. Older guys and younger guys, two different teams. Younger guys go. They're standing there, I think, the VIP area. And whatever the table leaves, one idiot cop decides to go to take the bottle.

That was off the table. A bounceer didn't know who he was. And he goes, yo, what the fuck you go? doing. He goes, I'm a cop. You fucking idiot. He IDed himself as a cop stealing. So what do you think? What happened? That bouncer made the proper

notifications. Everybody got in trouble. Because half of them were fucking drunk. And one idiot is stealing liquor from an event on duty. Yeah, it got in trouble. They made a big ordeal. Oh, it was a very big ordeal. Because everybody was fucking ratting on each other trying to get out of it. But a bunch of it. But a bunch of people got in trouble for that. So they all got fired too? No, they didn't get fired. A lot of guys got transferred. The guys that, uh, that they went through a bunch of stuff. Now, there's probably a lot

of overdoses at those events. Yeah. Sure is. And they also had EDC at MetLife too. That I didn't do. I just did the New York one. Did you ever do New Year's Eve? Yeah, work New Year's Eve plenty of times. And regular clothes and uniform. Is it harder working in uniform compared to regular clothes? Because you have so many people coming up to you? No, not really because what happens is Time Square, they have everything is sectioned off. So you can kind of go wherever you want. So nobody's bothers you. That's a cool of time if you've never done it.

But hopefully the weather's good too. If the weather's shitty, you're out there. I've heard crazy stories about people like using the bathroom, like in line and stuff. People were pissing right there. I used to feel bad, man. I used to suck. What I used to do and guys used to make fun of you all the time. I used to look for a family that was kind of far,

and I would take them and put them in the front right by the ball. I would do that all the time. You were allowed to do that? Yes and no. Yes and no. I would never wait in line. It's good to see if, like, when I was first dating my wife, she got to come there and we got to hang out right by the stadium.

And I got to see all a bunch of celebrities singing and dancing and stuff. So that was cool. Was it hard to date as a detective? So it's funny. So when I first started dating my wife, I used to work the crime unit. And I used to 9 at night to 5 at a morning. So she would be like, oh, when can we meet?

I'd be like for lunch. like on a fucking Tuesday. And she was like, what the fuck? Like, you know, no person is not like. So I'm like, yeah, we'll do that. I'm like, I need to sleep. And I will meet for lunch. And at first she was like,

she thought I had a girlfriend or something else. She didn't understand it. But then eventually she got used to it. Where do you finish your career at? What department? I finished my career at Special Victims Division and I used to do the Midnight Tour. And what's the Special Victims Division?

It's fucked up. It's all about. sexual crimes, rape, you know, any sexual act to anybody. And what we used to, so the cool thing was we had citywide jurisdiction, but we had a small team. We only had six people. So you would get a lot of phone calls from like hospitals and say, you know, this poor girl came in and said she was raped. So you do interviews and stuff like that. The one cool thing is that we didn't handle the case. We would just take it, start it, and then it would go to the corrective borough, whatever it was. In these cases, are you more likely than not able to catch the perpetrator?

No, they caught a lot of them. They caught a lot of them. But that was a fucked up thing because I used to feel bad for a lot of these girls, man. It was sad. But a lot of these girls are stupid too because they would meet this idiot on social media. Go out and have a drink and go back to his house at two in the morning. What the fuck do you think is going to happen at two in the morning? You're both intoxicated.

You know, you don't even know this guy. And then if you say no, this guy, you know, unfortunately he's going to do something stupid. Yeah, working in that unit, how dangerous do you think it is to say meet someone on, say, Tinder and go out on a date in New York City? It's scary. It's very scary because the one thing I noticed with the sexual crimes, it was every walk of life from a fucking doctor to some janitor in a building. So every walks.

And that was a crazy thing that I didn't realize. How would you tell someone to stay safe? You try to talk to him as much as you can, especially like the girls, you know. You try to talk to them as much you can. But my partner at the time was a female. So I had a good female partner, so she used to do a lot of it. But what advice would you give to someone today? I would see be very careful with social media.

Be very careful because you never really know who you're meeting. Someone could portray who they are and they're really not. And I won't go back to somebody's house. I would stay away from it. Yeah. Don't fucking go meet somebody 11 o'clock at night and have drinks. Now, these perpetrators, are they most of the time in the system already? Yeah, 90% of them.

And what's mostly fucked up, either it would be somebody that were dating or somebody close-knit, like an uncle or a fucking family good friend or somebody like that. That I know. It's a lot. Did working in that department have a big impact on you mentally? Yeah, absolutely. So they say to be in that unit, you shouldn't really do it more than three to four years because it fucks you up.

I only did it for a year. And for me, it was hard transition because I'm a street guy. I'm not a fucking office guy. Like, when I interview some guy that, you know, touch a little girl, I'm ready to grab him by his neck. I don't want to talk to him. So for me, it was difficult. Why did you go to that department to begin with? So what happened is my later career, I'm a narcotics.

I wind up leaving and I went to what's called as a precincter detector squad for a little while. And I didn't like it. So I went up making a phone calls and somebody said, you want to go to special victims. I'm like, I don't give a fuck. It's my end of career. Sort of like, you want to go do it on the midnight tour. And I said, yeah, fuck it. That's what I did.

That's probably the most busy time, right? You know what? Yes and no. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes you won't get anything. And then other nights you would. It all depending on what you worked. Is it a lot of it just going to the hospital when you get the call?

Yeah, a majority it was going to the hospital and doing interviews. And the doctors are calling you? Yeah, the doctors will call. Okay. They have to by law. And were you stationed in Brooklyn, too, for this, or you switched? My office was in Manhattan, lower Manhattan, but we went everywhere. We went anywhere from the Bronx all the way to fucking the borderline and

Queens and Long Island. Okay. So that was different. And the longest part of your career was in Brooklyn. Yeah. My longest stint was I did narcotics for most of my career. What did you like the most out of all of the things? The camaraderie.

And Brooklyn is my favorite borough, hands down. Just between the people, the food, the neighborhoods, everything. I loved it the most. And that office where I was was in the most shittiest part of fucking Brooklyn. The building was disgusting, but I loved it the best. Why do you only make it a year in the last unit you worked in? Because I was leaving anywhere. I was retiring, so I only stayed a year.

So does it even make sense looking back on it to do that for that year? Yes and no. You know what it was? Where I was right before that, I didn't really like too much. And that was just a place that kind of worked better. And doing the midnight's works for my family. So that's why I did it. What do you think your career taught you?

Oh, told me a lot, man. And everybody's got a story, no matter what walk a life they're from. And you got to kind of treat everybody, you know, somewhat. Like if you just looked at me, you would think, you know, a million different things. But I got a history too. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon. I grew up fucked up in actual, you know. And then I went totally different.

Do you think you were able to sympathize with a lot of people in that situation? Yeah, absolutely. The only thing I think used to be a little fucked up is when we used to do search warrants. and we would hit a door and there was a fucking little kid in there that used to really trigger me that he's triggered me a lot Do you think you went after the people that

you know dealt drugs because your parents were addicted to themselves? No, you know what it was? At first no, so it's funny when I first came out of the academy there was a guy that I became friendly with and till this day we're still friends we were tired together

and we started in the academy together and when we first started he's like I'm gonna go to narcotics I'm like you're fucking out of your mind So I'm like, no way, dude. And then I wound up choosing it. And it was the best thing I ever did in my life. What happened to your parents?

So my dad passed away a few years ago, and my mother's still around. But she's a, you know, she's a functioning addict. Did your dad ever get cleaned before he passed? Yeah, he did. Crack a Kamen Jack Margarita and taste your escape. It's America's number one for a reason. Kaman Jack is a premium malt beverage with flavors. Drink responsibly.

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Terms apply, seeverbo.com slash trust for details. For a little bit, but then unfortunately he had a lot of health issues and it could really mess them up. What did they think about you becoming a cop? They were very proud, you know? They were very proud. I was the first one to ever go to college

and the first one to become a cop. So it was kind of cool. Did your siblings take a similar path? No, no, very different. I have two brothers. One is a tech guy and one's a construction guy. Very different. Is it hard to get the job out of your mind

once you retire after that long? Especially for me when I retired because at first... So for me, I went from chasing bad guys to fucking... My kid saying, Daddy, I want this, I want that. So the transition was huge for me. And then my wife telling me, Oh, you know, did you do this?

What did you do today? So for me, the transition was huge. I joke around all the time. I say I'd rather chase bad guys than fucking dealing with you guys at a playground or something. But it's cool because my kids are young and that's a cool thing. And I get to experience that.

And then, you know, watch them grow up. Do you feel like you're always on guard? To a certain point. Yeah, there's certain things, certain habits I have that I'll never change. Never change. You know? But, you know, it's cool. Is there a case you still think about to this day,

even after retirement? I think about the CI that I have that I had for that many years. I had him a long time. And he was, you know, even though he was a CI, we still were very friendly. And he used to tell me all the time, you ever need anything else. And I used to joke around with him, but we wound up losing contact. I say, when I retire, we're going to sit down and have a beer. And I wound up, we wound up losing contact, change numbers or whatever.

So I think about that guy. What about coworkers? Do you stay in touch with a lot? Yeah. So I still keep in contact with guys. It's funny. Yesterday I spoke to a few guys. We're going to sit down and talk because even though I have other friends,

it's a different type of relationship. You know what it is? When you're working, especially in a car, you're wearing a car with a guy for 15 hours, 16 hours. You know what you learn about somebody with 15, 16 hours in a car? I know it's Social Security number. I know his kid's birthdays. They know what his wife likes?

She doesn't like. You know what I mean? So you become very close. So you can't just cut that off. It changed, you know? Do you see a lot of people's relationships be impacted because of the amount of time you spend with each other? Yeah. Well, unfortunately, cops have a big divorce rate, right?

A lot of guys become alcoholics. A lot of guys getting involved in a lot of stupid shit. So, yeah, I think it's a big impact. Are you glad that you started your career fairly early and were able to get out of the room? Yeah, absolutely. Because now even like guys I grew up with, I fuck with them and talk to them all the time. And I'd say, oh, let's meet for lunch on a Tuesday. They can't do that.

They're working, you know? Yeah. So. If you could do it all over again. Would you? Yeah, absolutely. I would have maybe four to five years earlier, I would have tried. But absolutely, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

And I would have started in a busier area. Instead of going to Manhattan, I would have started in Brooklyn or the Bronx. Absolutely. You know what it is? I love the streets, man. I had a great time. It was dangerous. Don't get me wrong.

But I was lucky enough to work with a lot of good people. And, you know, I made lifelong friends. What advice would you give to a cop That's on the force Are about to join one now? I would tell them Go all the places Don't do New York

Because right now All these other states Florida Go sit in a beach in Florida And go look at ass all day long Why do you want to sit Imagine a guy In Brownsville right now

Sitting in a fucking bodega Eating bullshit When you could be on a beach Making more money Having a better quality of life Your quality of life Should be better But do you think

It's that name NYPD that people are attracted to. It is, but you know what? Start there and go somewhere else. That's what I would probably reckon. Maybe start, get your feet wet, go somewhere else and then enjoy yourself. Well, James, I appreciate you coming on the show today. Thank you, man. I appreciate it. It was cool. Yeah, you did great for your first interview ever. I broke my chair. You pretty good. Yeah, you did great, man. I appreciate you. Thank you.