The Savage City (62 page)

BLA communiqué following Jones and Piagentini killing:
Ibid. The letter read, in part: “All power to the people. Revolutionary justice has been meted out once again by righteous brothers of the Black Liberation Army
with the death of two Gestapo pigs gunned down as so many of our brothers have been gun [
sic
] down in the past. But this time no racist class jury will acquit them. Revolutionary justice is ours. All Power to the people.” OPERATION NEWKILL files.

“We're in a war” (Kiernan statement):
Passin' It On,
PBS documentary; Tanenbaum and Rosenberg,
Badge of the Assassin,
p. 15.

Lindsay and Murphy encounter with officers outside station house:
Tanenbaum and Rosenberg,
Badge of the Assassin,
pp. 18–21.

“There are those who call themselves your brothers”:
“Why Kill Black Cops?”
Amsterdam News,
May 25, 1971.

Whitmore meets Abby Mann:
Interview with George Whitmore (April 3, 2009); interview with Myron Beldock (January 27, 2009); interview with Selwyn Raab (April 22, 2009).

Whitmore's growing disenchantment with his situation:
Interview with George Whitmore (April 3, 2009).

17. NEWKILL

Attempted robbery at Triple-O social club:
Interview with Dhoruba Bin Wahad (September 16, 2008); interview with Robert Daley (January 21, 2010); Daley,
Target Blue,
pp. 81–86; Seedman and Hellman,
Chief,
pp. 442–444.

Bin Wahad's time underground:
Interview with Dhoruba Bin Wahad (September 16, 2008).

“The black underground”:
Passin' It On,
PBS documentary.

“We were lucky to be taken alive”:
Interview with Dhoruba Bin Wahad (September 16, 2008).

Bin Wahad et al. arrested and held at Forty-eighth Precinct station house:
In the documentary
Passin' It On,
both Bin Wahad and Jamal Joseph allege that they were “tortured” while in custody, but there was never any evidence to back that up. In a photograph, Bin Wahad is seen being led from the station house with no visible signs of physical abuse.

Police funerals:
The funeral in the Bronx for Waverly Jones was estimated to be one of the largest in NYPD history. The funeral for Joseph Piagentini was held in suburban Long Island, where the officer had lived with his wife, Diane, and two children. “Another Cop Mourned,”
Daily News,
May 28, 1971; Tanenbaum and Rosenberg,
Badge of the Assassin,
p. 37.

Largest NYPD manhunt in history:
Tanenbaum and Rosenberg,
Badge of the Assassin,
pp. 38–43; NYPD Task Force file memo.

Along with the official investigation, there began in the wake of the Jones and Piagentini shooting an unofficial enterprise. Detective Randy Jurgensen,
who had been one of the first responders at the Jones and Piagentini murder scene, became part of a unit known as “Grosso's Groupettes,” after lead detective Sonny Grosso. With the release of
The French Connection
(1970), in which actor Roy Scheider played Grosso, who served as technical adviser, the veteran cop was now a star in the department. He was given a squad of half a dozen cops and citywide jurisdiction to investigate cases involving the Black Liberation Army. Many on the force knew about the unit, but its existence was kept secret from the Lindsay administration, which was not yet willing to admit publicly that the BLA even existed. Interview with Randy Jurgensen (February 12, 2010); interview with Sonny Grosso (April 13, 2009).

“Approximately 1000 DD-5's were submitted”:
NYPD Task Force memo.

Nixon meets with Hoover to discuss police shootings in NYC:
O'Reilly,
Racial Matters,
p. 321; Perlstein,
Nixonland,
p. 411. The
Daily News
ran a photo on page three of Nixon, Hoover, and Attorney General John Mitchell, under the headline “Discuss N.Y. Killings at White House,” with the caption: “President Nixon is flanked by Attorney General John Mitchell and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover at White House yesterday. Trio met to review federal efforts to help New York police track down slayers of Patrolman Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini.”
Daily News,
May 27, 1971.

Formation of OPERATION NEWKILL:
Interview with Robert Boyle (November 21, 2008); Churchill and Vander Wall,
The COINTELPRO Papers,
p. 158d; O'Reilly,
Racial Matters,
pp. 321–324; OPERATION NEWKILL files, various memos.

“Due to the fact” (NEWKILL memo):
OPERATION NEWKILL files.

Machine gun linked to Curry and Binetti shooting:
Ibid.; Daley,
Target Blue,
pp. 80–81; Seedman and Hellman,
Chief,
pp. 447–448; interview with Robert Boyle (November 21, 2008); McFadden, Robert D., “4 Seized in Bronx Holdup, Linked to Police Deaths,”
New York Times,
June 6, 1971; Montgomery, Paul L., “Evidence Seen Growing in Police Shooting Here,”
New York Times,
June 7, 1971; Van Gelder, Lawrence, “Roberts Links 2 Holdup Suspects to Police Shootings,”
New York Times,
June 12, 1971.

Pauline Joseph:
OPERATION NEWKILL files; Daley,
Target Blue,
pp. 81–85; Seedman and Hellman,
Chief,
pp. 448–449; interview with Dhoruba Bin Wahad (September 16, 2008); interview with Robert Boyle (November 21, 2008); interview with Robert Daley (January 21, 2010).

757 Beck Street as headquarters for BLA cell:
Ibid.

Bin Wahad indictments announced:
Darnton, John, “7 Panthers Indicted in Slaying of a Party Official in Corona,”
New York Times,
July 30, 1971.

Bin Wahad arraignment before Judge Riccobono:
“Black Panther Here Is Charged in the Shooting of 2 Policemen,”
New York Times,
July 31, 1971.

Robert Vickers incident:
OPERATION NEWKILL memo; Clark, Alfred E., “Members of Black Army Sought in Bronx Street-by-Street Hunt,”
New York Times,
March 8, 1973.

Twymon Myers:
Interview with Cleo Silvers (March 26, 2009); OPERATION NEWKILL memo.

JoAnne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur:
OPERATION NEWKILL files; Daley,
Target Blue,
pp. 291–293; Seedman and Hellman,
Chief,
pp. 421, 424; Shakur, Assata,
Assata
, entire book.

Phillips working undercover for Knapp investigators:
Interview with Mike Armstrong (August 12, 2009); Shecter with Phillips,
On the Pad,
pp. 233–286;
The Knapp Commission Report,
pp. 50–56.

Phillips's use of word
nigger:
Shecter with Phillips,
On the Pad
.

Phillips's cover is blown:
Ibid.

“How the fuck did I ever agree to do a thing like this?”:
Ibid.

Phillips's testimony at Knapp Commission hearings:
Interview with Mike Armstrong (August 12, 2009); Federici, William, and Paul Meskil, “Harlem Take Ran 70G Month: Payoff Cop Gives Knapp Lowdown,”
Daily News,
October 20, 1971; Burton, Anthony, “How to Be a Corrupt Cop & Live to Tell,”
Daily News,
October 20, 1971; Burnham, Davis, “Knapp Commission Hears of Police Bribes of Up to $1,500,”
New York Times,
October 21, 1971; “Excerpts of Testimony by Patrolman Phillips on Graft-Taking,”
New York Times,
October 20, 1971; “Excerpts from Testimony of Patrolman Phillips on System of Payoff to Police,”
New York Times,
October 21, 1971; “A Glossary of Terms Relating to Corruption,”
New York Times,
October 21, 1971; “Guarding the Guardians,”
Time,
November 1, 1971; Shecter with Phillips,
On the Pad,
pp. 287–295;
The Knapp Commission Report,
pp. 40–41;
NBC News Report
(Vanderbilt TVNA), October 19, 20, 1971;
ABC News Report
(Vanderbilt TVNA), October 19, 20, 1971.

“Thank God his dad's gone”:
Clines, Francis X., “The Witness: Policeman's Son, a ‘Decent Lad,' a Cool Grafter,”
New York Times,
October 22, 1971.

Commissioner Murphy response:
ABC Television statement (Vanderbilt TVNA), October 21, 1971; Pace, Eric, “Murphy Defends Honesty of the Average Policeman,”
New York Times,
October 22, 1971; Daley,
Target Blue,
pp. 310–311; Lardner and Reppetto,
NYPD,
pp. 269–270, 271; Murphy and Plate,
Commissioner,
p. 178.

Kiernan/PBA response:
Pace, Eric, “Inquiry Called ‘Knapp
Circus': Leaders of Police Groups at Meeting Here Are Critical of the Corruption Panel,”
New York Times,
October 23, 1971; Burnham, David, “Lindsay Defends Corruption Hearing: Tells P.B.A. Head the Inquiry Is in ‘Best Interest' of Everyone on Force,”
New York Times,
October 26, 1971.

Totality of Knapp hearings (Droge, Logan, and Serpico):
“Knapp Unit's Head Defends Legality of Investigation,”
New York Times,
October 24, 1971; “Knapp Urges Permanent Body on Police Corruption to Succeed His Panel,”
New York Times,
October 25, 1971; “Knapp Witness to Tell of Lindsay Officials' Apathy,”
New York Times,
October 30, 1971; Burnham, David, “Patrolman Says ‘All But 2' of Colleagues Got Bribes,”
New York Times,
October 23, 1971; “Cops as Pushers,”
Time,
November 8, 1971.

“The whole fucking Harlem stinks”:
Shecter with Phillips,
On the Pad,
p. 168.

“I didn't know what to say”:
Ibid.

New York Cops Talk Back:
This study by Nicholas Alex of police attitudes in the years of racial unrest and the Knapp Commission hearings is one of the most revealing documents of its time. Alex interviewed forty-seven white cops, who spoke freely and openly on condition of anonymity. The study was a follow-up to a previous book-length study by Alex of African American officers entitled
Black in Blue
.

Foster and Laurie shooting:
Whelton, Clark, “The Blood on Avenue B,”
Village Voice,
February 10, 1972; Kaufman, Michael T., “9 in Black ‘Army' Are Hunted in Police Assassinations,”
New York Times,
February 9, 1972; interview with Robert Daley (January 21, 2010); interview with Gerald Lefcourt (January 25, 2010); Silverman, Al,
Foster and Laurie,
pp. 3–44; Daley,
Target Blue,
pp. 412–415; Seedman and Hellman,
Chief,
pp. 482–485.

“This is from the George Jackson Squad of the Black Liberation Army”:
Daley,
Target Blue,
p. 417; Seedman and Hellman,
Chief,
p. 438; NEWKILL files contains a copy of the actual communiqué.

“Too many policemen have been killed”:
Kaufman, Michael T., “Murphy Asks for Federal Help in Hunt for Policeman's Killers,”
New York Times,
February 18, 1972.

Rise of “black army”:
Arnold, Martin, “Murphy Suggests Roving Band May Have Killed 2 Policemen,”
New York Times,
February 4, 1972; Kaufman, Michael T., “Evidence of ‘Liberation Army' Said to Rise,”
New York Times,
February 17, 1972.

Murphy defends his position:
Gelsner, Lesley, “Murphy Defends Accusations of 9,”
New York Times,
February 11, 1972.

Injunction filed by Robert Bloom:
Kaufman, Michael T., “5 Seeking to Curb Police Publicity,”
New York Times,
February 22, 1972; “A Justice
Refuses Motion to Dismiss Panthers' Charges,”
New York Times,
February 23, 1972; Lubasch, Arnold H., “‘Black Army' Link Allowed in Court,”
New York Times,
February 29, 1972.

Whitmore final appeal overturned:
Interview with Myron Beldock (January 27, 2009); interview with George Whitmore (April 3, 2009); “Whitmore Loses Bid for a Hearing,”
New York Times,
February 29, 1972.

Raab visits Whitmore at Green Haven:
Interview with Selwyn Raab (April 22, 2009).

18. LONG TIME COMIN'

Raab and Beldock focus on Celeste Viruet:
Interview with Myron Beldock (January 27, 2009); interview with Selwyn Raab (April 22, 2009).

“I'm not sure who came up with the idea first”:
Interview with Myron Beldock (January 27, 2009).

The hunt for Celeste Viruet:
Interview with Selwyn Raab (April 22, 2009); interview with Myron Beldock (January 27, 2009).

Beldock, Raab, and crew travel to Puerto Rico:
Ibid.

Encounter with hotel café busboy:
Ibid.

Interview with Celeste Viruet:
Ibid.

Frederick Douglass quote:
Bin Wahad often used another famous Douglass quote in his writing and as a guiding principle in his life: “Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has and never will.”

Napier murder trial in Queens:
Siegel, Max H., “Girl, 12, Describes Killing of a Black Panther Here,”
New York Times,
March 25, 1972; McQuiston, John T., “Hung Jury Ends Panther 4 Trial,”
New York Times,
June 15, 1972; interview with Dhoruba Bin Wahad (September 16, 2009).