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All the Centurions: The Real "Prince of the City" Tells His Story Kindle Edition

by Robert Leuci (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 120 ratings
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The bestselling book and acclaimed film Prince of the City told only part of Robert Leuci's story. In All the Centurions, he shares the full account of his years as a narcotics detective with the New York Police Department -- a tale of daring adventure, shattered illusions, and finally, astonishing spiritual growth.

Leuci reminisces about cops both celebrated and notorious, like Frank Serpico, Sonny Grosso, and Frank King from the French Connection case. Also here are politicians, Mafia figures, corrupt defense lawyers, and district attorneys, including a young Rudolph Giuliani. Leuci reveals the dark side of the criminal justice system: the bitterness, greed, cruelty, and ambition that eventually overflowed into the streets, precinct houses, and courtrooms of the city.

As vivid and entertaining as the best crime novels, All the Centurions is the story of a man descending into a hell of his own making who ultimately finds his way out through truth and justice.

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  1. Print length
    386 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperCollins e-books
  5. Publication date
    October 13, 2009
  6. File size
    1324 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ex-cop Leuci presents an unflinching if familiar tale of the ravages of drug-related police corruption in New York City. The broad aspects of his story were previously treated in Robert Daley's Prince of the City, later adapted into a Sidney Lumet movie starring Treat Williams as Leuci. Here the author traces in detail the incremental steps that turned him from a naïve and idealistic beat cop into an arrogant dirty one, who easily rationalized ripping off drug dealers and playing along with rampant graft. To his credit, Leuci doesn't sugarcoat or paper over his lies, his betrayal of the public and his family, or pretend that he was unaware at the time that what he was doing was wrong. These flaws make him a classic tragic figure, especially when he begins to make a belated effort to redeem himself by cooperating with the Knapp Commission. Though Leuci still lectures to police departments around the country, and presumably continues to follow the NYPD, his failure to comment on more recent scandals or offer insights as to how corruption could be minimized is unfortunate. Still, for those new to his story, this will be an eye-opening look at some of the wages of the war on drugs during the 1960s and '70s.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

A narcotics detective in New York City for more than twenty years, Robert Leuci is the author of several books, including Blaze. He lives in Rhode Island.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000SCHBKW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books (October 13, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1324 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 386 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 120 ratings

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Bob Leuci

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
120 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Paul Natale
5.0 out of 5 stars Police work. How it really is!
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2018
Verified Purchase
If you ever wanted the true, real story of police work, this is it. No holds barred. The good and the bad. Leuci tells the story of his career from the naive start as a new cop on the street till his final chapter when he realized how his life had changed and not all to the good .This story will hold you tight from the beginning to the end.
My only negative was at the very end with his time in Hollywood.
One person found this helpful
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Eddie Wannabee
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the price of admission
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2013
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Found this book at a very nice price, and since I do enjoy police books (huge fan of Mr. Joseph Wambaugh, one of my old time favorites), I bought it. The book is all things considered a very entertaining book, much better than others, with all kinds of accounts of what transpired on the streets at the time Mr. Robert Leuci was on duty. Shifting through several departments, performing different jobs, make for a juicy read. The life of a police officer is unique in many ways, and what they encounter on their daily shifts, can be from the silliest to the quite extreme situations. The writing is fine, the pace keeps the momentum going, so overall I gladly give this book 4 Stars.
2 people found this helpful
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Taker Park
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2017
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It's alright.
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sapd
5.0 out of 5 stars Written as only a cop could write it..
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2012
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Wow. Read Prince Of The City first. Then see the movie. Then when you are familiar with all of that come back and read this book. Prince of the City is such a good read I have read it 3 times over the years. All the centurions is easily as good or better. All fans of the gritty police tale should love this. Police officers especially will enjoy this gem. The kindle version has a couple of typo's but nothing to worry about.
4 people found this helpful
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Wiley
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting biography
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2018
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From an idealistic patrolman to the Prince of the City, this is a story of a police officer rising in the NYPD to the rank of detective working narcotics. The idealism is crushed by the weight of futility. He crosses the line and can never return. Interesting story how a good cop goes bad and the agonizing quest for redemption.
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Arthur Monahan
5.0 out of 5 stars STUDY OF THE SLOW DETERIATION OF STANDARD BEHAVIOR
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2009
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The book was a blatent example of what happens when you rationalize ostensible minor behavior and accept a lower standard. Standards of behavior and high moral standard are necessary for each of us to maintain. Very similar to the "broken window" theory when fighting crimal behavior we can not dinminish our standards. If it is wrong it is wrong and we cannot look the other way.
3 people found this helpful
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Wendy Dredla
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good book. Great inside look at police work
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2017
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Really good book. Great inside look at police work.I grew up in NY so a lot of streets were familiar to me. Finished it in 2 days
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CJAuntie
4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2014
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I read and saw the movie Prince of the City. It was the true story of New York City police corruption during the 1970s. Detective Bob Leuci was one of the men who was part of the scandal. In this book, Bob Leuci writes about the scandal from his side of the story. If you enjoy reading about police corruption, you will enjoy reading this book. I also recommend reading Prince of the City and watching the movie.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

jlmax
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book.
Reviewed in France on March 5, 2015
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Well, what can I say. It's for real. This book is about the corruption in the NYPD. Bob Leuci was in that system until he decide to quit it. If you want to buy this book, buy the "Prince of New York" too.
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Damian from Galway
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cop Book Ever
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2013
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The only problem I had with this book is that I didn't want it to end! This is quite simply an amazing memoir of an NYPD cop on the streets of New York during the city's worst period from 1961-1981. Crime-ravaged, police corruption and a defunct criminal justice system, Robert Leuci witnessed it all and eventually succumbed, like many others, to the never-ending cycle of temptation. I'm simply staggered to read Leuci's graphic description of Brooklyn in the mid to late 1960s. I lived in Brooklyn from 2002-2010 and it's beyond belief how much it has changed from Leuci's den of iniquity to a middle class sanitized corporate funworld. This book is an amazing read.
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Bart Blue
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insight in NYPD's biggest corruption scandal!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2014
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Excellent book and a nice follow up to David Durk's "The Pleasant Avenue Connection".
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