Steve Fishman

Dax, this is the first story I ever heard Louis Scarcella tell. The legendary New York detective. Tell me more. So Detective Scarcella is with his partner. They're testifying in court one day. It's lunchtime. The court breaks, and Detective Scarcella and his partner decide that this is the moment to track down a murder suspect.

Dax, this is the first story I ever heard Louis Scarcella tell. The legendary New York detective. Tell me more. So Detective Scarcella is with his partner. They're testifying in court one day. It's lunchtime. The court breaks, and Detective Scarcella and his partner decide that this is the moment to track down a murder suspect.

Do you ever imagine that clock goes off?

Do you ever imagine that clock goes off?

Welcome to Louie's Brooklyn, where bad guys were around every corner, and it was up to Detective Scarcella to protect the people. They needed me, and I loved doing it. Louie's heyday was the 80s and 90s, and back then, all New Yorkers, even the most liberal columnists, wanted law and order.

Welcome to Louie's Brooklyn, where bad guys were around every corner, and it was up to Detective Scarcella to protect the people. They needed me, and I loved doing it. Louie's heyday was the 80s and 90s, and back then, all New Yorkers, even the most liberal columnists, wanted law and order.

Luis Garcella had movie star good looks, smoked a cigar everywhere, and he was tough. He seemed like he was the kind of tough cop the city needed.

Luis Garcella had movie star good looks, smoked a cigar everywhere, and he was tough. He seemed like he was the kind of tough cop the city needed.

Luis Garcella was known as the closer, the one who got the confession. And with that came fame. He was on the Dr. Phil show.

Luis Garcella was known as the closer, the one who got the confession. And with that came fame. He was on the Dr. Phil show.

I'm Steve Fishman. I've lived in New York a long time. I've been writing about crime for a long time. As a journalist, I've interviewed cops, prosecutors, criminals. Son of Sam, Bernie Madoff, they opened up to me. I felt I knew a lot about the criminal justice system. So when I heard these headlines about Scarcella, my thought, this cannot be the whole story.

I'm Steve Fishman. I've lived in New York a long time. I've been writing about crime for a long time. As a journalist, I've interviewed cops, prosecutors, criminals. Son of Sam, Bernie Madoff, they opened up to me. I felt I knew a lot about the criminal justice system. So when I heard these headlines about Scarcella, my thought, this cannot be the whole story.

Was this really about one rogue cop who, what, hoodwinked an entire system?

Was this really about one rogue cop who, what, hoodwinked an entire system?

We're gonna go deep. Is Louis a hero cop, a scapegoat, or a super villain who helped put away more than 20 innocent men? Men who now want revenge. I don't know, man. Maybe they want vindication. You know, that's what Luis Garcella feels he deserves, too.

We're gonna go deep. Is Louis a hero cop, a scapegoat, or a super villain who helped put away more than 20 innocent men? Men who now want revenge. I don't know, man. Maybe they want vindication. You know, that's what Luis Garcella feels he deserves, too.

Today on the show, The Scoop. All right, Steve, where do we begin? We begin with the person who broke the Luis Garcello story long before you or I got involved. That's Frances Robles, known to her New York Times colleagues as Frenchie.

Today on the show, The Scoop. All right, Steve, where do we begin? We begin with the person who broke the Luis Garcello story long before you or I got involved. That's Frances Robles, known to her New York Times colleagues as Frenchie.

Frenchie's from Queens, from an Italian neighborhood called Howard Beach.

Frenchie's from Queens, from an Italian neighborhood called Howard Beach.