Annotation
The true story of a New Jersey State Trooper's infiltration of the Genovese crime family and how he decimated the organizationWorking undercover, Mike Russell was infiltrating a Mafia crime family when a turn for the worst left him with a gunshot to the back of the head. Left to die in an alley, Russell survived the botched hit and went on to orchestrate one of the biggest mafia takedowns of all time.Urged by his police handlers, Russell used his cover story-an ex-cop fired for excessive force who now made his living from an oil delivery business-and street skills to assimilate into the Genovese crime family in New Jersey, ultimately leading to more than fifty arrests of mobsters, corrupt prison officials, and even a state senator. Straddling the thin line between collecting evidence and participating in the very crimes he was leaking to the cops, Russell consistently placed himself at risk-especially when his police handlers disregarded his wishes and his well-being, conducting premature raids on the gangsters. With his marriage suffering and his family in danger, Russell took extraordinary steps to ensure his financial security and safety, demanding better terms from the police and allowing a film crew to document the final moments of the epic bust for a documentary that was later sold to HBO.A real-life version of The Sopranos, Undercover Cop immerses readers in the colorful yet harrowing trials of a standout cop who faced the mob on his own terms, disrupting organized crime in New Jersey and forever redefining undercover police work.
| Genre | NonFiction Sociological True crime Memoir |
| Topics | Police Undercover investigations Organized crime Mafia Mobsters Criminology |
| Setting | Newark, New Jersey |