Jimmy the King - by Gus Garcia-Roberts

About the Book

"The 1979 murder of 13-year-old John Pius is a stain on the history of Suffolk County, Long Island. It was national news at the time: a young white kid with his whole life ahead of him, killed and trampled and left in the woods. A young detective named Thomas Spota was under intense pressure to solve the mystery. Then a 14-year-old informant named Jimmy Burke came to him with evidence--questionable evidence--that broke the case open. The relationship between Spota and Burke bloomed after the Pius case, and both grew powerful in law enforcement. Over the ensuing years, Spota rose through the ranks, eventually becoming District Attorney. And Burke became first a cop, and then, ultimately, the Chief of Police. And their reign, founded on a scandalous murder with a dubious resolution, was one of extravagant corruption: bribes and coerced confessions, side deals, brutality, and graft. Spota and Burke were brought down in 2014, when Newsday exposed their criminal activity to the public and forced them out of office. Jimmy the King is not only the story of this corruption and its eventual demise, but about the true role of the police department of Suffolk County: to serve the powerful and project strength, while allowing the marginalized to suffer. This powerful and dramatic story is a microcosm of one of the most urgent issues of our times, a book that asks who the law serves, who it protects, and who it leaves out in the cold"--

Book Synopsis

An incredible four-decade account of murder, power, and corruption in one of the country's largest police departments

In 1979, the gruesome slaying of a thirteen-year-old boy riveted the suburbs of Suffolk County, New York. As the county hustled to bring the case to a dubious resolution, a wayward local teenager emerged with a convenient story to tell. For his cooperation, James Burke was rewarded with a job as a cop.

Thus began Burke's unlikely ascent to the top of one of the country's largest law enforcement jurisdictions. He and a crew of likeminded allies utilized vengeance, gangster tactics, and political leverage to become the most powerful and feared figures in their suburban empire. In his quest to maintain that power, Burke botched -- intentionally or not -- dire investigations like that of the famed Gilgo Beach serial killings and the county's MS-13 gang scourge.

Until a pilfered bag of sex toys brought it all crashing down.

Jimmy the King is the story of the rise, reign, and paranoiac fall of a corrupt cop and his regime--a crime family with badges and guaranteed pensions. Novelistic in detail and piercing in its political insight, this book will leave you questioning who modern policing serves, who it protects, and who it preys upon and abandons.

Review Quotes

"a true crime classic".--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This is a story of hubris, ambition, excess and revenge, and how it can all come crashing down even after four decades of getting away with murder."--Town & Country

"Reading like a potboiler noir, yet all too true, Garcia-Roberts' exposition of the corrupt foundations of a troubled Long Island justice system leaves no stone unturned."--Booklist

"Gritty, sprawling account of police malfeasance. Investigative reporter Garcia-Roberts offers a seamy narrative of politics and violence in Long Island's Suffolk County."--Kirkus

"Jimmy the King is an engrossing, play-by-play account of a law-enforcement scandal involving corruption so brazen it would be hard to believe if it weren't so thoroughly reported." --Christopher Goffard, author of Dirty John and Other True Stories

"Jimmy the King is an extraordinary piece of modern reporting that uses the dubious rise and violent fall of former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke as a window into one of the most vice-ridden and corrupt departments in the country. . . . The best researched and most captivating piece of investigative journalism that I've read in quite some time."--Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy

"Jimmy the King is the kind of true-crime book we don't get enough of: thoroughly reported, and engagingly written, and set in a downwardly mobile suburban world that is too often misunderstood. Highly recommended!"--Nate Blakeslee, New York Times-bestselling author of American Wolf and Tulia

"Epic in scope and captivating in detail, the spellbinding story of a massive scandal from its very roots. You will be shocked by the twists in this story and the brazenness of its villains. But you won't be able to put it down."--Evan Ratliff, author of The Mastermind

"If Martin Scorsese were to write a true-crime exposé about crooked cops, it would read like Jimmy the King."--Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos and Goodfellas

About the Author

Gus Garcia-Roberts is a sports-focused investigative reporter for The Washington Post. He previously worked on investigative teams for Newsday, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He was a member of the Newsday team that was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its series on hidden police misconduct on the eastern end of Long Island. He is the co-author of Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis, and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era. He lives in Los Angeles.