Busted : A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love
Author(s): Wendy Ruderman, Barbara Laker
When Benny Martinez walks into the offices of the Philadelphia Daily News in 2008 to speak with reporter Wendy Ruderman, the paper is on the brink of bankruptcy. What he tells Wendy and her colleague Barbara Laker is too shocking to ignore: his career as a confidential informant for a member of the Philadelphia Police Department's narcotics squad has drawn him into a web of corruption, and now Benny is afraid for his life.
Busted is Ruderman and Laker's riveting account of their investigation into the acts committed by powerful rogue members of the narcotics squad. By dint of perseverance, ingenuity, and good old shoe-leather reporting, the women unraveled a tapestry of lies. Starting with the discovery of fabricated search warrants, they soon find that the scandal encompasses a systematic looting of immigrant-owned businesses and allegations of brutal sexual assault.
When Ruderman and Laker produce a devastating series of articles that blows the lid off the scandal, they not only win the fight for justice. They also win a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, an unthinkable triumph for two city reporters at a beleaguered local paper.
Review(s):
“Equal parts serious journalism and sisterly sass, Busted is a personable and fast-reading ride…a shoe-leather journalistic procedural set against the ticking clock of the failing newspaper industry.”
“The chick, noir version of All the President’s Men with a little Rocky… and a little almost anything with Rosalind Russell or Barbara Stanwyck.”
“A riveting tale of two brave reporters who love what they do and are totally committed….engaging, down to earth and at times, very funny.”
“Busted is a very good book about very bad people, a great read about great injustice.…Busted is proof that journalism still lives, still matters.”
“The new book Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love is the chick, noir version of All the President’s Men.”
“I admire Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker, who are not only Pulitzer-Prize winning journalists, but fearless and fascinating women. Busted reads like a turbo-charged thriller, all the more compelling because it’s true. Pick up a copy, and you won’t be able to put it down.”
“A story that not only pounds at the door to come inside, but stands as a much-needed reminder that newspapers are and always have been and, as far as I know, always will be the bedrock of the art of journalism.”
“Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love is the scorching, devastating, and action-packed story of two journalists’ journey into the dark heart of a major city.…Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker are true heroes…. I love this book.”
“Busted is a thoroughly engaging…trip into Philadelphia’s underworld, where cops prey on those they are pledged to protect…. Rich with character and incident, it’s a complete original, and a love letter to newspapers in their hour of dire need.”
“Busted is a taut, gritty story of drug dealers and corrupt cops written with passion, fury and what Philadelphians refer to as attitude (pronounced ‘atty-tood’). Ruderman and Laker have a lot of that, which is why they’re two of the best reporters in the country.”
ISBN: 9780062085450