Frank Serpico

Francesco Vincent "Frank" Serpico ( SUR-pik-oh; born April 14, 1936) is an American retired detective with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), best known for whistleblowing on police corruption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Serpico was a plainclothes officer working in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan to expose vice racketeering. In 1967, he reported credible evidence of widespread corruption in the NYPD, to no effect. In 1970, he contributed to a front-page story in The New York Times on the department's corruption, which drew national attention to the problem. Mayor John Lindsay appointed a five-member panel to investigate accusations of corruption, which became the Knapp Commission. On February 3, 1971, Serpico was shot in the face during an arrest attempt at 778 Driggs Avenue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The bullet severed an auditory nerve, and left fragments lodged near his brain. The circumstances surrounding Serpico's shooting were quickly called into question, raising the possibility that he had been led to the apartment by his colleagues to be murdered. There was no formal investigation, but Edgar Echevarria, who had shot Serpico, was subsequently convicted of attempted murder. Much of Serpico's fame came after the release of the film Serpico (1973), in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, based on the book of the same name by Peter Maas. Serpico moved to Europe subsequent to his recovery and testimony before the Knapp Commission. On June 27, 2013, the USA Section of ANPS (National Association of Italian State Police) awarded him the "Saint Michael Archangel Prize". During the ceremony, he gained Italian citizenship and received an Italian passport.