Michael Cannell Interview

Matt Crawford speaks with author Michael Cannell about his book, Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the World. No episode in NYPD history surpasses the crimes committed by Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, two decorated detectives who covertly acted as mafia informants and paid assassins for the mob in 1980s Brooklyn. For more than ten years, Eppolito and Caracappa moonlighted as the mob's early warning system, leaking names of mobsters secretly cooperating with the government and crippling investigations by sharing details of surveillance, phone taps, and impending arrests. The Lucchese boss called the two detectives his crystal ball: Whatever detectives knew, the mafia soon learned. Most grievously, Eppolito and Caracappa earned bonuses by staging eight mob hits, pulling the trigger themselves at least once. Cannell takes us on a deep dive, grabs us by the throat and never let's go. Expertly researched and written, Blood and the Badge reads like a screenplay, almost too outlandish to believe. But make no mistake, these stories are true and so are their victims. Cannell makes sure we maintain our humanity as we read and wait to see if justice will prevail.