A New York Police Department whistleblower who took a bullet during a drug raid more than 50 years ago is calling on prosecutors to reinvestige the shooting.
Frank Serpico, 87, wants answers about being shot during a Feb. 3, 1971 drug raid.
"For years, I didn't want to believe I was set up — that's one," Serpico told the Daily News. "And two, I thought, 'How are you going to prove it?' I want to clear the record for history, what Frank Serpico did and the price he had to pay."
When he was shot, Serpico already was getting death threats and being scorned by NYPD colleagues — nine months before he was to appear before a commission probing police corruption.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez received the request from Serpico's attorney, Peter Gleason.
"Many works of fiction have attempted to memorialize that evening in February 1971, yet the reality of Serpico being set up by his NYPD colleagues to permanently silence him has never been investigated," Gleason wrote to Gonzalez.
"The public narrative on this tragedy is filled with fantasy."
Gonzalez's office "received the letter and" is "reviewing the request," a spokesman told the Daily News.
Departing NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell also received Gleason's request for Serpico's police employment medical and personnel records.
The letter Gleason wrote to Gonzales mentioned "NYPD internal documents that defy logic and appear to be concocted in furtherance of discrediting Serpico," according to the Daily News.
Serpico remains upset about the reporting on his shooting, including books and a 1973 movie for which Al Pacino won a Golden Globe Award for playing his character.
"I'm bothered by other people telling my story," he said. "They're distorting the facts.
"There was no 10-13 call, bottom line. That speaks volumes."
A 10-13 is a call for police assistance.
Serpico received a NYPD Medal of Honor in February 2022 from New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
"If people had taken heed of what Frank Serpico brought to light, numerous corruption scandals over the years might never have happened," Gleason told the Daily News. "For better or worse, the NYPD created this situation and never investigated."
Serpico said he has "nothing against" the criminal who shot him, saying "he was doing what crooks do," but he wants transparency before he dies.
"I am 87 years old, and I want to go to the grave with the peace of mind that everything was done to determine the cause of me being shot that night," he told the Daily News. "I want my records, I want to see my files.
"This has been with me for over 50 years. The old story is walk a mile in my shoes. I don't want vengeance or retribution. I want the truth. I expect no less in a country like America."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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