Robert Leuci | |
---|---|
Born |
Brooklyn, New York, USA |
February 28, 1940
Died | October 12, 2015 Saunderstown, Rhode Island, USA |
(aged 75)
Police career | |
Department | New York City Police Department (NYPD) |
Years of service | 1961–1981 |
Rank | Detective Second Grade |
Other work | Writer and College Professor |
Robert Leuci (February 28, 1940 – October 12, 2015) was a detective with the New York City Police (NYPD), US, known for his work exposing corruption in the police department and the criminal justice system. After retiring from the NYPD he wrote novels, short stories, TV episodes and a memoir of his years on the force. He taught and had residencies at over forty universities and law schools, and lectured on morality and ethics erosion at many US police departments and the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. Leuci knew Frank Serpico, known for being the first officer to expose corruption within the police department ranks. The book (by Robert Daley) and the film Prince of the City are based on a portion of Leuci's police career.
Leuci was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 28, 1940, to an Italian-American family. He is the son of James Leuci, a union official, and Lucy, a housewife. Right after his birth the family moved to Ozone Park, Queens, where he attended John Adams High School. After high school he attended Baker University in Kansas, and New York University, Fordham University as well as The New School for Social Research in New York City.
At nineteen, Leuci took the test to enter the New York City Police Academy. At twenty-one, he graduated, becoming a member of the NYPD.
As a rookie, he was assigned to the 100th Precinct in Rockaway Beach, Queens. In 1962, he transferred to the Tactical Patrol Force, where he worked the Manhattan North and South Bronx precincts. In TPF, he worked in the city’s highest crime areas. Leuci established relationships with street contacts and became one of the top arresting officers in the division. Leuci was transferred to the Narcotics Bureau for undercover work when he was 24. He created a network of field informants that led him to work numerous important cases; one of his first assignments was as a student who bought drugs at a high school.