Busted (book)

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Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love
Busted (book).jpg
First edition
Author Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime
PublishedMarch 11, 2014
Publisher HarperCollins
ISBN 9780062085443

Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love is a 2014 non-fiction book by Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker. The book details the true tale of how Ruderman and Laker, two reporters at the Philadelphia Daily News , led an investigation into police corruption in Philadelphia. This book shows the back story of the "Tainted Justice" investigation which earned the women a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for investigative reporting.

Contents

Plot summary

At the time of the investigation, the newspaper was in deep financial trouble. The company, which also owns the Philadelphia Inquirer, only had one lawyer at the time. The lawyer was bogged down with other legal proceedings and was unable to offer too much help to the women. So instead, when the city refused to give them access to search warrants, Ruderman and Laker convinced the custodian of the records on Christmas Eve to let them access the records. [1]

Aftermath of the investigation

The investigation was quite the controversy in Philadelphia. In part, that was because several police officers died in the line of duty leading up to the investigation, which made people already more sensitive to police at that time. [1]

After the investigation trickled out through the tabloid over a few months, hundreds of drug cases in the city had been re-examined out and some were thrown out. Philadelphia police also launched a task force with the FBI, the department's Internal Affairs division and the city's Inspector General's Office, to investigate the incidents. [2] As of May 10[ when? ], five officers involved with the allegations were on desk duty and more than 15 civil suits had been filed in federal court.

Federal and local prosecutors decided not to press any charges against the four officers who were accused of lying about evidence on search warrants and stealing from corner drug stores—one of the officers was accused of sexually assaulting at least three women. [3]

In July 2014, the president of Philadelphia's Fraternal Order of Police, John McNesby, demanded an investigation into how Ruderman and Laker interacted with the sources used during their "Tainted Justice" investigation. According to a NewsWorks report at the time, McNesby suggested that the reporters "may have given money, paid utility bills and provided diapers to sources who accused the offers at the center of the 2009 series." [4] McNesby said the Pulitzer Prize should be revoked from the women.

Pulitzer Prize

A video [5] from a staff member at the Daily News shows the two women jumping wildly up and down after learning they had won. Ruderman is seen opening a small bottle of champagne, pouring it into her tennis shoe and drinking it. [6] She later called this a reference to "shoe leather" journalism.

Reception

Rosella Elanor Lafevre praised the book in a review for the Philadelphia magazine, writing:

It’s a captivating story that I tore through in two days. There are moments that inspire riotous laughter and quiet awe, and some that will make your skin crawl. It gives as much proof to the importance of hard-working reporters in a one-party town as it does the importance of chasing your dreams, even when they seem preposterous. [7]

In the May 23, 2014, edition of the New York Times' Sunday Book Review, Charles Graeber offered this short take on the book:

This is a shoe-leather journalistic procedural set against the ticking clock of the failing newspaper industry. The book is sometimes a bit self-conscious about its buddy movie potential, but it’s impossible not to root for the self-described “slime sistas” as they follow up on a series of tips about a Philly police squad that regularly robbed immigrant-owned bodegas, and a badge-wielding sexual predator known only as “the Boob Man.” [8]

The Washington Post's Melinda Henneberger compared the two women to Thelma and Louise in a story appearing in the April 2, 2014, edition of the newspaper's style section:

The new book... is the chick, noir version of “All the President’s Men,” with a little “Rocky,” a little “Deadline U.S.A.” and a little almost anything with Rosalind Russell or Barbara Stanwyck. [9]

Many have compared Ruderman and Laker to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the journalists behind Watergate and co-authors of All the President's Men . In a column for the Columbia Journalism review, Anna Clark draws similar parallels:

The effect is a little jarring for a co-written book, but it does have the immediacy that comes with first-person narrative, while avoiding the flattening effect of a “we” voice stretching for hundreds of pages. (For the record, Woodward and Bernstein in All The President’s Men opted for a third-person narrator who knows the reporters’ thoughts, a choice that comes with its own idiosyncrasies: “ ’Oh god, not Bernstein,’ Woodward thought . . . .”) [1]

TV series

In June 2014, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment considered developing an hour-long, limited television series based on the book. [10] Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker was reported to be attached to the project as one of two leads. Parker spent time in Philadelphia shadowing Ruderman in preparation for the role. [11] David Frankel, director of 2006's The Devil Wears Prada , was brought on to direct the television series along with Carla Hacken, president of production at SKE, who is supposed to produce it.

Related Research Articles

<i>All the Presidents Men</i> 1974 nonfiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

All the President's Men is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists who investigated the June 1972 break-in at the Watergate Office Building and the resultant political scandal for The Washington Post. The book chronicles the investigative reporting of Woodward and Bernstein from Woodward's initial report on the Watergate break-in through the resignations of Nixon Administration officials H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman in April 1973, and the revelation of the Oval Office Watergate tapes by Alexander Butterfield three months later. It relates the events behind the major stories the duo wrote for the Post, naming some sources who had previously refused to be identified for their initial articles, notably Hugh Sloan. It also gives detailed accounts of Woodward's secret meetings with his source Deep Throat, whose identity was kept hidden for over 30 years. Gene Roberts, the former executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and former managing editor of The New York Times, has called the work of Woodward and Bernstein "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Woodward</span> American investigative journalist and associate editor (born 1943)

Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist. He started working for The Washington Post as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor.

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog reporting" or "accountability reporting."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Throat (Watergate)</span> Alias of Mark Felt, Watergate scandal whistleblower

Deep Throat is the pseudonym given to the secret informant who provided information in 1972 to Bob Woodward, who shared it with Carl Bernstein. Woodward and Bernstein were reporters for The Washington Post, and Deep Throat provided key details about the involvement of U.S. president Richard Nixon's administration in what came to be known as the Watergate scandal. In 2005, 31 years after Nixon's resignation and 11 years after Nixon's death, a family attorney stated that former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Associate Director Mark Felt was Deep Throat. By then, Felt was suffering from dementia and had previously denied being Deep Throat, but Woodward and Bernstein then confirmed the attorney's claim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting</span> American journalism award

The Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting has been awarded since 1953, under one name or another, for a distinguished example of investigative reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single article or series in a U.S. news publication. It is administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Public Service</span> American journalism award

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The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, fourth largest police force and sixth largest non-federal law enforcement agency in the United States. Since records were first kept in 1828, at least 289 PPD officers have died in the line of duty.

<i>Philadelphia Daily News</i> Daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "A fierce hunt for justice". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  2. "Covering 'Tainted Justice' And Winning A Pulitzer". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  3. "No criminal charges for four Philly officers in 'Tainted Justice' cases". philly-archives. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  4. Moselle, Aaron. "Philly police union chief wants probe of Daily News' Pulitzer-winning series on corruption — NewsWorks". Newsworks.org. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  5. Philadelphia Daily News wins Pulitzer - video
  6. Michele Tranquilli (2011-01-23), Philadelphia Daily News wins Pulitzer , retrieved 2016-06-22
  7. "BOOK REVIEW: "Busted" by Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker | Ticket". Philadelphia Magazine. 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  8. Graeber, Charles (2014-05-23). "Steven Levingston's 'Little Demon in the City of Light,' and More". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  9. Henneberger, Melinda (2014-04-02). "Philadelphia reporters recount professional, personal tales for book on police corruption". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  10. Stedman, Alex (2014-06-25). "Sarah Jessica Parker Attached to Star in 'Busted' Crime Thriller TV Series". Variety. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  11. "Sarah Jessica Parker 'Busted' a move in Philly". philly-archives. Retrieved 2016-06-22.