The Dark Side of the Force: A True Story of Corruption and Murder in the LAPD
The Los Angeles Police Department long had a reputation as one of the best in the nation. Then came the revelations in Edward Humes's Murderer with a Badge (Nonfiction Forecasts, Oct. 5, 1992), Norma Jean Almodovar's Cop to Call Girl (Nonfiction Forecasts, March 29) and the Rodney King beating. To that list can be added this shocking tale of two officers, both highly regarded by their colleagues and neighbors, who established a prostitution ring, trafficked in automatic weapons, perhaps committed an armed robbery and carried out at least one murder for hire. With eminent fairness, freelance writer Golab tells the story of Richard Ford and Robert Van Villas, both raised in dysfunctional families, both Vietnam War heroes, both loving husbands and fathers who betrayed their law enforcement trust and were found guilty of murder in 1988, and are now serving life sentences, pending appeals. A sobering and depressing, yet highly readable, book.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.