Blood and the Badge is the shocking and at times unbelievable tale of two decorated NYC Police Department detectives who led a double life as Mafia henchmen. Detectives Louis Eppolito and Frank Caracappa not only alerted their mob connection to impeding raids and arrests, but also disclosed the identities of several mob informants, leading to their deaths and, incredibly, carried out hits for the Mafia. This is a comprehensive and intensive narrative not only of the detectives corrupt and criminal activities, but also a deep dive into the inner workings of the mob and several high-ranking members. It’s also an indictment of the NYPD hierarchy who either turned a blind eye to the detectives actions, or were too incompetent to uncover the corruption over a ten year plus period. The author gathered information from numerous sources, including court testimony, police records and personal interviews, and tells this story from the beginning of the cops’ misdeeds right through to their criminal trial and ultimate imprisonment. This is an incredible story, highly recommended. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was EXCELLENT. So engaging, well written, thorough and detailed (yet kept my attention from the first page). I had heard some of this info before, but much of it was new to me and written so linearly it was easy to follow and understand linkages between many moving parts. This is a must read for any true crime addict, especially if you have an interest in the New York mafia circa 1980-1990s. Here’s to hoping Micheal writes more books on the subject!