Jimmy the King, Gus GarciaRoberts
Jimmy the King, Gus GarciaRoberts
2 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Jimmy the King
Murder, Vice, and the Reign of a Dirty Cop

Author: Gus Garcia-Roberts

Narrator: Marc Vietor

Unabridged: 16 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 05/03/2022


Synopsis

An incredible four-decade account of murder, power, and corruption in one of the country’s largest police departments
 
In 1979, the gruesome slaying of a thirteen-year-old boy riveted the suburbs of Suffolk County, New York. As the county hustled to bring the case to a dubious resolution, a wayward local teenager emerged with a convenient story to tell. For his cooperation, Jimmy Burke was rewarded with a job as a cop.

Thus began Burke’s unlikely ascent to the top of one of the country’s largest law enforcement jurisdictions. He and a crew of likeminded allies utilized vengeance, gangster tactics, and political leverage to become the most powerful and feared figures in their suburban empire.

Until a pilfered bag of sex toys brought it all crashing down.

Jimmy the King is the story of the rise, reign, and paranoiac fall of a corrupt cop and his regime—a crime family with badges and guaranteed pensions. Novelistic in detail and piercing in its political insight, this book will leave you questioning who modern policing serves, who it protects, and who it preys upon and abandons. 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kerri on May 21, 2022

This is a good read if you’re interested in stories of police and government corruption. Or, if you’re from Long Island and want all the sordid details of the insanity that occurred in law enforcement over several decades. The timeline jumping sometimes made the book hard to follow, and I have to wo......more

Goodreads review by Marianne on April 18, 2024

What a horrifying eye opener…everyone who grew up in Suffolk County should know this went on here UPDATE- There was information in this book that he was involved in Gilgo Beach murders somehow and now, it’s coming out! Wow !!! What a crazy world 😢......more

Goodreads review by Haley on April 01, 2022

The extensive research effort that went into this is evident, but the structure was confusing and the material was dense......more

Goodreads review by Autumn on June 09, 2022

A little confusing , I would have to read it 3-6 times to remember all the characters and info. Crazy story though......more

Goodreads review by Michelle on August 01, 2022

Disturbing. Hard to follow all the names. Especially on audio.......more


Quotes

“If Martin Scorsese were to write a true-crime exposé about crooked cops, it would read like Jimmy the King.”—Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos and Goodfellas

“Epic in scope and captivating in detail, the spellbinding story of a massive scandal from its very roots. You will be shocked by the twists in this story and the brazenness of its villains. But you won’t be able to put it down.”—Evan Ratliff, author of The Mastermind

Jimmy the King is the kind of true-crime book we don’t get enough of: thoroughly reported, and engagingly written, and set in a downwardly mobile suburban world that is too often misunderstood. Highly recommended!”—Nate Blakeslee, New York Times–bestselling author of American Wolf and Tulia

Jimmy the King is an engrossing, play-by-play account of a law-enforcement scandal involving corruption so brazen it would be hard to believe if it weren’t so thoroughly reported.” —Christopher Goffard, author of Dirty John and Other True Stories

Jimmy the King is an extraordinary piece of modern reporting that uses the dubious rise and violent fall of former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke as a window into one of the most vice-ridden and corrupt departments in the country. . . . The best researched and most captivating piece of investigative journalism that I’ve read in quite some time.”—Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy