Who speaks for you?

Who speaks for you? The inside story of the prosecutor who took down Baltimore's most crooked cops

Leo J. Wise, 1977-

Book - 2023

"In 2015 and 2016, Baltimore was reeling after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody and the protests that followed. In the midst of this unrest, a violent, highly trained, and heavily armed criminal gang roamed the city. They robbed people, sold drugs and guns, and divided the loot and profit among themselves. They had been doing it for years. But these were not ordinary career criminals. They were the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF). Formed in 2007 to get the guns and criminals responsible for Baltimore's high crime rates off the streets, they went rogue and abused their power to terrorize people throughout the city. On March 1, 2017, all members of the GTTF were arrested on federal racketeer...ing charges. In Who Speaks for You?, Leo Wise, the lead federal prosecutor in the case, tells you how. Wise gives an inside look into the investigation and prosecution of this group of elite and corrupt cops. He shares the unbelievable twists and turns of the case, revealing not only what these officers did but how they were brought to justice. Wise dramatically recounts how his team put together their case, what happened during the trial and court proceedings, and how his team successfully prosecuted these extraordinary defendants. This is the firsthand story of a once-in-a-generation police corruption case told by the prosecutor who was intimately involved in every step of the investigation."--Jacket flap.

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor Show me where

364.1323/Wise
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 364.1323/Wise Checked In
Subjects
Baltimore (Md.). > Police Department. > Gun Trace Task Force > Corrupt practices.
Police corruption > Maryland > Baltimore.
Corruption.
Police corruption.
Maryland > Baltimore.
Published
Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press 2023.
Language
English
Main Author
Leo J. Wise, 1977- (author)
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
xii, 271 pages : map ; 24 cm
ISBN
9781421446509
  • 0. Author's Notes
  • 0. Cast of Characters
  • 0. Prologue
  • 0. Part One
  • 1. The\Barn
  • 2. The\Alameda
  • 3. East 25th Street
  • 4. North Longwood Street
  • 5. The\Winnebago Caper
  • 6. Westminster and the U-Store
  • 7. East Baltimore
  • 8. West Baltimore
  • 9. They're Stealing from Everybody
  • 0. Part Two
  • 10. Indictment
  • 11. The\Legacy Task Force Members
  • 12. The\Newcomers
  • 13. New Charges, New Defendants
  • 14. Middle River
  • 0. Part Three
  • 15. Getting Started
  • 16. Cops Testifying Against Cops
  • 17. Drug Dealers Testifying Against Cops
  • 18. Geography is Destiny
  • 19. Choices
  • 0. Afterword
  • 0. Index
  • 0. Notes
Review by Booklist Review

On February 12, 2018, a jury foreperson read the guilty verdicts that ended a corruption saga, a stain on the reputation of the Baltimore Police Department. Members of the Gun Trace Task Force operated as a law unto themselves, abusing their authority and robbing drug dealers. As author and prosecutor Leo Wise relates, the case against the officers began in the fall of 2015. An investigation into a drug dealer turned up an illegal surveillance device, which led to rogue officers and revealed their involvement in a host of other offenses, including illegal searches and overtime fraud. Wise, a U.S. Attorney who mostly prosecuted white-collar crime (including Enron) and political corruption, was floored by the depth of the officers' crimes. Wise and his investigators' work would lead to the indictment of eight officers in 2017, with six opting to plead guilty, while two stood trial. His excellent book provides an insider's perspective into a case that has garnered headlines since the March 2017 arrests and a compelling education for readers without ever sounding pedantic.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Federal prosecutor Wise delivers a riveting inside account of the yearslong investigation he led to take down a corrupt Baltimore police unit. Wise's involvement began in 2015, when he was brought into a probe of two major heroin dealers. The inquiry took a turn when Wise and his colleagues learned that a tracking device had been placed on one of the dealers' cars by a detective from the Baltimore Police Department's gun task force. The detective had bought the device himself and failed to register it in the required database; those anomalies initiated an investigation that yielded, in 2017, the indictment of seven Baltimore officers on racketeering charges involving the commission of multiple armed robberies, including of drug dealers they ripped off for money and narcotics. Most ended up pleading guilty, and, in 2018, the remaining defendants were convicted at a jury trial. Wise expertly balances detail and accessibility, writing lucidly about the case's legal intricacies and the challenges of getting jurors to view cops as criminals. This is a treat for true crime fans. (Apr.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Similar Items