NYPD Detective Catches America’s Dumbest Criminals

As a 12-year-old, the guest worked at a wholesale meat market owned by the Gambino Crime Family, witnessing brutal enforcement actions like a shoplifter being beaten, fingers broken in a vice, and paint poured down his throat. This early exposure to the harsh realities of organized crime provided a stark lesson in street justice and the dangers of the criminal underworld.

The guest recounts his father pulling him from the job after he witnessed two men, Carmine and Anthony, beat a shoplifter, break his fingers, and pour paint down his throat before throwing him out with the garbage.

In the early 90s, many NYPD officers and firefighters were involved in a tax fraud scheme orchestrated by a 'tax preparer' named Jules. Officers making $35,000-$40,000 were receiving $8,000-$10,000 tax refunds, which the guest recognized as suspicious. Jules was eventually caught by the IRS, leading to audits for many officers and his own imprisonment.

The guest describes how 'Jules' was popular among officers for getting huge refunds, and how he himself opted for a 'blue plate special' (honest return) despite being charged $300, while his colleagues later faced IRS audits and Jules went to jail.

The introduction of random drug testing in the NYPD in the late 1980s led to many older officers, particularly Vietnam holdovers, being fired for drug use. The guest details the rigorous testing procedures, including direct observation, due to previous attempts to cheat. One notable exception involved a female officer who kept her job after testing positive for cocaine, claiming transference during oral sex.

The guest explains the shift from 'for cause' testing to random testing for 40,000+ officers, the use of mirrors and direct observation to prevent prosthetic penises or hidden bottles, and the specific case of a female officer who claimed cocaine entered her system via oral sex.

The guest frequently encountered 'repeat customers' like 'Spud,' who would get arrested for various crimes (stolen cars, fake IDs) but consistently offered information to district attorneys to avoid serious jail time. These individuals often provided 'crumbs' of intelligence, enough to string along prosecutors but rarely leading to significant convictions for themselves.

The guest recounts multiple arrests of 'Spud' over two decades, including being caught with a stolen Jaguar and guns from Virginia Beach, and using a fake New Jersey license. Each time, Spud would offer information about his 'gangster uncles' to avoid full prosecution.

Homicide investigations often revealed complex and tragic scenarios, including staged crime scenes. The guest describes a case where a son murdered his mother, a crack addict who was stealing from her, and then meticulously staged the apartment to look like a robbery, leaving the door ajar for someone else to find the body.

The guest details arriving at a scene where a woman was stabbed multiple times, with dried blood indicating the crime happened hours earlier. He noticed the 'ransacked' apartment was staged, with drawers pulled out but put back, and cash/credit cards left behind, indicating an inside job.

Police work involved constant physical danger and psychological stress. The guest recounts a domestic dispute where officers shot a man dismembering his girlfriend, narrowly avoiding a knife attack. Another incident involved a fight with an HIV-positive suspect, leading to an agonizing wait for test results and a reevaluation of his career.

The guest describes a partner getting his pant leg cut by a knife during a shootout with a suspect, and later, a fight with an HIV-positive car thief where officers were covered in the suspect's blood, prompting a doctor to offer an 'antiviral cocktail' with severe side effects.

The guest's DA friend sought his help locating a suspect in a complex murder case involving Christian Tarantino, a Long Island criminal involved in armored car robberies. Tarantino allegedly killed a courier, then killed a crew member (Louis Dorval) who committed the first murder, stuffing his body in a tool chest and dumping it in the Atlantic. Later, Tarantino hired Justin Breman to kill Vincent Gulio (Dee Snider's brother-in-law) for blackmailing him about the murders. Breman disappeared, his car burned, and Tarantino was convicted for Dorval's murder, but Breman's fate remains a mystery.

The guest details the DA's request to find Justin Breman, the sequence of murders, the disposal of Dorval's body in a tool chest, Gulio's blackmail attempt, and Breman's subsequent disappearance after killing Gulio, with Tarantino eventually receiving a life sentence.