Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love

In the vein of Erin Brockovich, The Departed, and T. J. English's Savage City comes Busted, the shocking true story of the biggest police corruption scandal in Philadelphia history, a tale of drugs, power, and abuse involving a rogue narcotics squad, a confidential informant, and two veteran journalists whose reporting drove a full-scale FBI probe, rocked the City of Brotherly Love, and earned a Pulitzer Prize .

In 2003, Benny Martinez became a Confidential Informant for a member of the Philadelphia Police Department's narcotics squad, helping arrest nearly 200 drug and gun dealers over seven years. But that success masked a dark and dangerous reality: the cops were as corrupt as the criminals they targeted.

In addition to fabricating busts, the squad systematically looted mom-and-pop stores, terrorizing hardworking immigrant owners. One squad member also sexually assaulted three women during raids. Frightened for his life, Martinez turned to Philadelphia Daily News reporters Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker.

Busted chronicles how these two journalists—both middle-class working mothers—formed an unlikely bond with a convicted street dealer to uncover the secrets of ruthless kingpins and dirty cops. Professionals in an industry shrinking from severe financial cutbacks, Ruderman and Laker had few resources—besides their own grit and tenacity—to break a dangerous, complex story that would expose the rotten underbelly of a modern American city and earn them a Pulitzer Prize. A page-turning thriller based on superb reportage, illustrated with eight pages of photos, Busted is modern true crime at its finest. 

Although Busted reads like a thriller, the breathtaking story it tells—of two journalists' quest to unmask corrupt police officers and a warped justice system, the reporting of which culminated in a Pulitzer Prize—is absolutely true. One afternoon in late 2008, a man walks into the offices of the local tabloid the Philadelphia Daily News and asks to speak with reporter Wendy Ruderman. An imminent casualty of the foundering print industry, the paper is on the brink of bankruptcy, and its anxious staff members are plagued with dwindling resources. But what Benny Martinez 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 horrifying web of corruption, and now he is afraid for his life.

The decision they make that day to believe Benny's saga will lead the two journalists to uncover a truth darker than they could have imagined. Busted is Ruderman and Laker's riveting account of their explosive investigation into the acts committed by rogue members of the narcotics squad. By dint of perseverance, ingenuity, and good old shoe-leather reporting, the women unravel a tapestry of lies almost six years in the making. Starting with a scheme to fabricate search warrants, the scandal soon encompasses the systematic, citywide looting of immigrant-owned businesses and allegations of brutal sexual assault.

The remarkable lengths Ruderman and Laker go to for the story—chasing down witnesses on the city's grimmest streets, sifting through archive boxes and hours of surveillance tape for crucial clues, and coaxing reluctant victims to come forward—put their determination to balance motherhood with the career they love to the ultimate test. But when they produce a devastating series of articles that blows the lid off the scandal—prompting civil lawsuits against the city and the reexamination of hundreds of convictions (although none of the officers have been charged or convicted of any crime)—they not only win the fight for justice; they also win a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, an unthinkable achievement for two city reporters at a beleaguered regional paper.

“As investigative reporters for the Philadelphia Daily News, this writing duo won a Pulitzer Prize for their series on police corruption in Philadelphia. The story starts with Benny Martinez, a drug informant who walked into their newspaper offices and spilled some secrets. It ends by exposing the dirty dealings of an elite narcotics squad.” - Houston Chronicle, “10 Books Worth Reading in 2014”

“As investigative reporters for the Philadelphia Daily News, this writing duo won a Pulitzer Prize for their series on police corruption in Philadelphia. The story starts with Benny Martinez, a drug informant…. It ends by exposing the dirty dealings of an elite narcotics squad.” - Houston Chronicle, “10 Books Worth Reading in 2014”

“A fast-paced, well-written true crime book.” - Washington Times

“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.” - New York Times Book Review

“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.” - Washington Post

“Busted is a Philadelphia classic…. It’s an easy, breezy read but that’s not to say it’s insubstantial.” - Philadelphia Magazine

“A riveting tale of two brave reporters who love what they do and are totally committed to doing what it takes to nail down their story. You’ve heard of police procedurals. This is a police-reporting procedural. Like the authors, the book is engaging, down to earth and at times, very funny. And it’s an important testament to the power of journalism. With all the concern today about new economic models, viral content and Twitter followers, Busted reminds us that journalism also serves an important social function, that there’s a reason for that First Amendment protection. Regardless of platform, journalism’s watchdog role remains critical.” - USA Today

“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.” - USA Today

“[A] gritty, honest, often surprisingly funny book.” - Philadelphia Weekly

“Busted is a welcome addition to the literature of journalism procedurals.” - Philadelphia Inquirer

“Busted reads like a gritty crime novel, but it is a paean to journalistic professionalism. Like a pair of dogged detectives, Wendy and Barbara butted heads with some of the most powerful institutional forces in one of America’s largest cities, letting no adversity deter their pursuit of police corruption.” - Michael Smerconish, columnist, MSNBC contributor, and host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM

“Busted reads like a gritty crime novel, but it is a paean to journalistic professionalism.” - Michael Smerconish, columnist, MSNBC contributor, and host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM

“This true crime book offers an impressive, crisply told account of the reporting of a police corruption scandal that yielded a Pulitzer Prize for Philadelphia Daily News reporters Ruderman and Laker. The authors…contextualize their process of unraveling a web of corrupt cops in an elite narcotics unit with events of tremendous change and upheaval in Philadelphia, its police department, the local newspaper business, and in their personal lives.…. What keeps the book from becoming an overly familiar touting of the power of journalism to right serious wrongs is the authors’ awareness of the fragility of the whole enterprise. ‘The death knell of our industry seemed remote’ when the authors garnered accolades, but one Pulitzer later, they have experienced job changes, a divorce, the bankruptcy of their employer—and none of the accused cops at the center of the scandal have faced charges. The book is a tough, lively lesson in how doing the right thing, the right way, may not be enough.” - Publishers Weekly

“This true crime book offers an impressive, crisply told account of the reporting of a police corruption scandal that yielded a Pulitzer Prize…. The book is a tough, lively lesson in how doing the right thing, the right way, may not be enough.” - Publishers Weekly

“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, with a little Rocky, a little Deadline U.S.A. and a little almost anything with Rosalind Russell or Barbara Stanwyck.”—Washington Post - Washington Post

“A very good book about very bad people, a great read about great injustice. . . . The hero here is journalism . . . because there are stories that demand to be told. Ruderman and Laker told such a story, lifting out of obscurity the lives of others while imperiling their own.… Busted is proof that journalism still lives, still matters.”-Newsweek - Newsweek

“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.” - Washington Post

“Prevailing against threats, intimidation, and the impending bankruptcy of their newspaper, Ruderman and Laker delivered a powerful series on police corruption, ultimately earning the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. This is a gritty, true-life thriller about the intersection of policing, drug dealing, and news reporting” - Booklist (starred review)

“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. The obstacles they faced, the human tragedy they encountered, and their personal courage made me cry, cheer, and yearn for the newsroom. Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker are true heroes…. I love this book.” - Edna Buchanan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author

“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.” - Pete Dexter, journalist and author of National Book Award-winner Paris Trout

“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.” - Edna Buchanan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author

“Part study in investigative journalism, it also delivers a commentary on the state of print journalism today, and justice.” - Daily News

“Fans of The Front Page and All the President’s Men will be transfixed by this astounding tale of police corruption. At the same time old-school tabloid reporters Ruderman and Laker are uncovering the story, their paper, the Philadelphia Daily News, is sinking—losing staff and other resources. But they persevere and end up not only with a great story, but a Pulitzer Prize.” - New York Post

“Fans of The Front Page and All the President’s Men will be transfixed by this astounding tale of police corruption.” - New York Post

“The authors demonstrate the fearless tenacity of dedicated journalists who risk their personal health and safety to uncover the truth. In the process, they reveal their mastery in telling a good story by balancing the raw, shady elements with humor, suspense, and references to family life. Readers of true crime and students of sociology will especially enjoy this highly engaging read about the modern realities that plague many American cities.” - Library Journal

“Readers of true crime and students of sociology will especially enjoy this highly engaging read about the modern realities that plague many American cities.” - Library Journal

“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.” - George Anastasia, author of Blood and Honor and The Last Gangster

“Busted is a thoroughly engaging—who would have thought such a word could apply?—trip into Philadelphia’s underworld, where cops prey on those they are pledged to protect. More than just an absorbing tale, Ruderman and Laker have written a reporter’s procedural, one that ought be read by anyone interested in the profession, and one that makes a compelling case for the essential importance of the work. Rich with character and incident, it’s a complete original, and a love letter to newspapers in their hour of dire need.” - Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

“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.” - Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

“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.” - Lisa Scottoline

“Busted is a very good book about very bad people, a great read about great injustice.…The hero here is journalism…the near-forgotten practice of walking the streets, paper and pad in hand, talking to people, and then writing about it…because there are stories that demand to be told. Ruderman and Laker told such a story, lifting out of obscurity the lives of others while imperiling their own.…Busted is proof that journalism still lives, still matters.” - Newsweek

“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.” - Newsweek

“Ruderman and Laker provide a welcome addition to the shelves of books about the mechanics and logistics of journalistic exposés . . . . [t]he narrative offers an insightful view of high-risk, high-reward investigative journalism.” - Kirkus Reviews

“In this gritty, true-life thriller, odd-couple Philadelphia Daily News reporters Ruderman and Laker flesh out their Pulitzer Prize–winning investigation into a crooked cop’s profitable partnership with his snitch—a series of articles that uncovered even more misdeeds in the narcotics unit. Prevailing against threats, intimidation, and the impending bankruptcy of their newspaper, they tell a story of a city the tourists seldom see.” - Booklist Online

“Prevailing against threats, intimidation, and the impending bankruptcy of their newspaper, [Ruderman and Laker]…tell a story of a city the tourists seldom see.” - Booklist Online