This is a 10 episode series. The focus is on the NYPD during the Mollen Commission. The time is the early 1990’s where drug use/sales was rampant and crime was at an all time high. There are about 20+ different persons involved in the scandal that are discussed or interviewed for the podcast. Zak Levitt does a fantastic job describing the corruption in the NYPD in the early 1990’s. It is difficult keeping track of all the persons involved, not Levitt’s fault. The 1990’s NYPD corruption is similar to a criminal organization, it was complicated to describe and unbelievable.
A few impressions: It is difficult to understand how the corruption took a foothold and allowed to sustain itself. It does raise the question of how easy is it for police to fall into corrupt practices. Are large police departments (the NYPD being the largest) more susceptible to corruption? Are mid-sized (100 to 500 officers) and smaller (under 100) just as susceptible to corruption? Episode 10 discusses the fallout from the corruption and police officers that lied under oath in criminal court cases. It is a great example of “Noble Cause” police corruption. The consequences of police officers lying under oath was that all the cases the officers testified in were dismissed. Many of the defendants were guilty even though the officers lied. However, because the officers lied the cases were dismissed and the criminals were released back on the streets. Instead of lying to help the administration of justice, the officers ended up losing all of their cases.
The podcast is available everywhere. Here are two links for the podcast:
Audacy and Spotify
Future of Policing 