Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Busted: The Story Of A Philadelphia Police Department Corruption Case

Jessica Griffin

In 2008 a longtime informant with the Philadelphia Police Department narcotics squad walked into the offices of the Philadelphia Daily News.

He spoke with Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker, resulting in a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative series uncovering corruption in the city's police department, and a full-scale FBI probe.

The events are chronicled in the book Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love.

Ruderman and Laker uncovered that police officers were raiding bodegas and robbing the stores, and also stealing money from drug dealers. But what happened to the officers that were under investigation?

"All five of them, one retired, the other four remain on desk duty and this is almost five years later. They are collecting their salaries through the police department, which is taxpayers' dollars and working towards their pension and even though they are not on the street, they are still police officers. In the meantime, the women are still waiting for justice or to even be listened to," Laker said.

Recent Episodes Of The Confluence