The Story Of The Only NYPD Officer Ever Sentenced To Death—100 Years Ago Today

Edward Conlon, former NYPD detective and the author of Blue Blood, offers an interesting piece at the Daily Beast that looks back at the only NYPD officer ever sentenced to death.

When it came to scandal, the Tammany leader Big Tim Sullivan said, New York was a nine-day town. But in the case of the murder of his friend Herman “Beansie” Rosenthal, a gangster and gambling house proprietor, Sullivan’s adage proved spectacularly untrue. Charles Becker, an NYPD lieutenant, was one of five men convicted of the murder, and he remains the only New York City police officer sent to the electric chair. Though the case was sensational and the conviction a travesty, Becker is little remembered today, and defended less. Both failures are all the more disgraceful because the prosecution was undertaken for a noble cause, that of political reform in general and police reform in particular. 

As with any criminal trial that is transformed into social allegory, the cause trumped the case; facts that contradicted it were held not as false but as heretical, demanding suppression instead of debate. Later generations seeking lessons from the past are likelier to dwell on episodes of clear-cut triumph or transgression. Who wants to commemorate a battle without heroes?   

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/30/the-story-of-the-only-nypd-officer-ever-sentenced-to-death-100-years-ago-today.html 

Former NYPD Detective Edward Conlon Nominated For Best First Novel By Mystery Writers Of America

Congratulations to Edward Conlon for his nomination for Best First Novel, Red On Red, by the Mystery Writers of America.

Conlon, who recently left the New York Police Department to write full-time, is also the author of an excellent nonfiction book about his police experiences and the long line of cops in his family called Blue Blood.

You can read my earlier post on Edward Conlon via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/09/tv-series-based-on-former-nypd.html

The above photo of Edward Conlon by Brian Scannell.    

TV Series Based On Former NYPD Detective's Novel Will Air On CBS

Deadline.com reports that Edward Conlon's outstanding first novel, Red On Red, will be adpated for TV and aired on CBS. Conlon, also the author of Blue Blood, recently retired from the NYPD.

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/greg-walker-teams-with-ole-for-cbs-detective-drama-richard-shepard-to-direct/

You can also read Edward Conlon's New Yorker piece about 9/11 and his leaving the NYPD via the below link:

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2011/09/12/110912ta_talk_conlon

September 11th: Ten Years, With Former NYPD Detective And Writer Edward Conlon

The New Yorker asked their contributors to look back and comment on how their lives have changed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Edward Conlon, a former NYPD detective and author of  Blue Blood and Red On Red, offered his comments in the current issue of the magazine.

I was a new detective in a South Bronx precinct. That morning, I’d caught a case—a gunpoint bodega robbery from the night before—when the news came on the TV. The sergeant told us to put on our uniforms: “We’re at war. Let’s suit up.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/09/september-11th-ten-years-with-edward-conlon.html  

You can also read an earlier post on Edward Conlon via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/07/writing-detective-retires-to-focus-on.html

A Writing Detective Retires To Focus On Books

The New York Times reports that Edward Conlon, the NYPD detective who wrote Blue Blood, a memoir, and Red On Red, a novel, has retired from the Police Department to write full-time.

Conlon told the Times that storytelling is a longstanding tradition among officers.

“In any given barroom, squad room or cookout, there are going to be cops telling stories,” Mr. Conlon said. “Many that are better than mine. I just can write them in a certain way.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/detective-retires-to-concentrate-on-his-wordsmith-job/ 

You can also read my earlier post on Edward Conlon via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/03/edward-conlons-red-on-red-nypd.html

A Q & A With NYPD Detective Edward Conlon, Author of "Red On Red"

Dylan Foley offers a Q & A in The New Jersey Star-Ledger with Edward Conlon, a New York City detective who has written a new novel called Red On Red. 

Conlon previously wrote an outstanding memoir of his first seven years on the NYPD called Blue Blood. 

You can read the Q & A via the below link:

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2011/04/edward_conlon_a_q_and_a.html

You can also read my previous post about Conlon:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/03/edward-conlons-red-on-red-nypd.html     

Edward Conlon's Red On Red: An NYPD Detective's Foray Into Fiction

I heard New York Police Detective Ed Conlon speak at the Philadelphia Free Library a while back when he was promoting Blue Blood, his memoir of his first seven years on the NYPD, and I spoke to him briefly.

Conlon (seen in the above LIFE photo) appeared with the legendary former FBI special agent Joe Pistone, who spent six years undercover with the New York Bonanno Cosa Nostra organized crime family. Pistone wrote about his experiences in Donnie Brasco, and Johnny Depp later portrayed Pistone in the film Donnie Brasco.

Conlon has now written a novel called Red On Red and he was interviewed about the novel by Steven Kurutz at The Wall Street Journal.

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://topics.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703858404576214680863055522.html

You can also read about Conlon's take on police fiction via the below link:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/03/22/an-nypd-detectives-take-on-police-fiction/

I thought Blood Blood was interesting and I look forward to reading Red On Red.