Tainted Evidence

by Robert Daley

Caught in the middle of an outbreak of racial violence, New York City Assistant DA Karen Henning finds her passions threaten her loyalties when she falls in love with her key witness. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Novels

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Robert Daley is the author of seventeen novels and eleven non-fiction books. Born and brought up in New York, he graduated from Fordham University, did his military service in the Air Force and began writing stories, articles and books immediately afterward. He was a New York Times foreign correspondents for six years based in France but covering stories from Russia to Ireland to Tunisia, fifteen or more countries in all. Much later he served as an NYPD deputy commissioner, which explains why many of his books have played out against a police background. His work has been translated into fourteen languages, and six of his books have been filmed. He is married with three daughters. He and his French born wife divide their time between a house in Connecticut and an apartment in Nice. France.

Reviews

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

"'You have to understand that nearly all of your clients are guilty. The evidence will only convict them. [...] stay as far away from evidence as you can.' [...]
'Once you empanel the jury you want, [...] you have only to play to their prejudices, their preconceived ideas.'"

Tainted Evidence (1993) is the second novel by Richard Daley that I have read. I have found it weaker than Wall of Brass that I reviewed here few months ago. The author, who had used to serve as the Deputy Commissioner of the New York Police Department before he embarked on writing career, is certainly an expert in all matters related to city government. The portrayal of office politics in the police department and in the office of district attorney is plausible, insightful, and relatively well written. I also like the enthralling account of the history of Harlem and how it became the center of violent crime, homicides, and drug use. However, the psychological portraits of main characters are shallow and cliché-ridden: these are not real people.

The beginning four chapters introduce the main characters and locations. We meet detectives Dan Muldoon and Mike Barone and a senior assistant district attorney, Karen Horne. The main thread of the plot begins when Muldoon leads a group of detectives on a mission to capture a dangerous criminal. The raid is horribly botched, there is a shootout, there are victims, and while the criminal has been captured, the case against him is not that clear cut. The case has been tainted by gross incompetence of police.

The second half of the novel is an account of the trial. One of the best lawyers in the country, famous for winning civil rights cases, leads the defense team. The case against a vicious criminal morphs into a case against police corruption and mismanagement. Politics permeates everything; personal career considerations trump law, justice, and fairness.

Alas, the human-interest threads are lame. Clichés abound. We are told that detective Muldoon is a slob. Then we constantly read about him doing slobby things, uttering slobby phrases, and saying 'fucken' all the time. The thread about Barone's erotic conquests is excruciatingly boring. Lame humor, like in the "wok joke," does not help either.

I like the cynical quotes about the legal system that I used for the epigraph. They come from the lawyer's speech given to law students. Otherwise, the novel is a marginal recommendation from me. People who read police or legal thrillers for the plot will probably like it more.

Two-and-a-half stars.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth reading just to get a honest look into policing and crime in the late 80's and 90's.

[Thrillers R Us · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wash of rising violent crime, improvement of statistical aggregation, a flourishing drug scene, and the listlessness of youth, Hollywood found the perfect vehicle to lean on demographic stereotypes, especially those involving felonious conduct. The Blacksploitation film. Blossoming out of the rich soil of violence in cinema that took on bloody life in the late 1960s, this type of film generally glamorized James Bond-style, smooth, foul-mouthed, and richly mythologized Harlem uberstuds, almost always in a romanticized rebellious struggle against the Man. Starting with SWEET SWEETBACK, SHAFT, SUPER FLY, FOXY BROWN, and HELL UP IN HARLEM, these films exercised large cinematic influence and gained societal traction at a time when racial relations changed in America. Fast forward to 1993 and TAINTED EVIDENCE by former Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD, and featuring racist cops, gun toting criminals, corrupt officials, agitating clergy, and the poor souls stuck in the middle, almost nothing seems to have changed up in Harlem.

Taking place in a time when law enforcement was an all male preserve, the NYPD in TAINTED EVIDENCE is at the outer limit marker where the cops are no longer mostly big burly florid faced men of Irish Catholic strain and where lawsuits are forcing the department to hire and promote more minorities, and even women. Built in 1931 and sitting squarely in the middle of the 30 block lot in Harlem that used to be called Harlem Plains or the valley of Harlem (the richest and most desirable part once upon a time), the Three-Two (32) precinct house is the pebble that starts the avalanche. Employing about 250 mostly white cops, the three-two wards over about one hundred thousand inhabitants, mostly all of them black. With contempt levels for the department and its procedures through the roof in the community, this is a recipe for disaster. Mix in trigger happy police, arrest hungry detectives, official misconduct, panicky and ruthless pharmaceutical entrepreneurs, and several amendments of the constitution, and you have a case that is sure to inflame tempers and bring the city to a boil. And it's not just the accused who is on trial, black Harlem's on trial, white NYC's on trial, the NYPD's on trial, women are on trial, the female ADA's on trial--the defendant is the least of it.

Written by a former member of the NYPD, TAINTED EVIDENCE is deeply steeped in on-the-job lingo, including Rosario material, Hairbag, The Tombs, phantasmagoric, paper work, taking a rip, UF 49, and DD-5. Veering off the investigative and operational SNAFU that gives birth to official charges and the ensuing work by the Assistant District Attorney taking the case to trial, TAINTED EVIDENCE firmly marches into the morass of domestic life, marital fidelity, workplace harassment, and societal morality, treading dangerously close to LIFETIME movie material. Published more than thirty years ago and dealing with the blue bro NYPD culture behaving like an army of occupation in their districts, deteriorating life for Blacks in Harlem and in America in general, as well as the cut-throat and heartless NYC justice system and presiding courts, there's lots of old school talk in TAINTED EVIDENCE, racist tropes and all. Additionally, the author has plenty to say about the legal process, chiefly that there is no such thing as an open and shut case, justice is not a system but concept, success is all in getting the jury you want, one can never be sure how a jury will decide as juries do crazy stuff sometimes, and the law is all people have to hold them together, as it's the only thing that separates them from barbarism. Seeking to prevent the city from descending into lawlessness that sounds a lot like the conditions around the George Floyd case and the ensuing civil unrest, TAINTED EVIDENCE has at its heart a fight for the cops's and the department's honor, and a defense attorney looking to rouse the jury to a racist fever. The only one holding the line in a system with too many murders, too few prosecutors, too few judges, and too few courtrooms is a scapegoat District Attorney hanging on to her sense of justice and the desire to win.

Replete with stellar and lengthy background and history of Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, Rikers Island and constitutional law findings, TAINTED EVIDENCE is a grand throwback to the heyday of the legal thriller. Among shout outs to Ken Follett and PILLARS OF THE EARTH, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (before it was a thing), and Philip Friedman, TAINTED EVIDENCE also drives home that men in general can be bought off very easily, people do not belong in cages/prisons, and in America, brilliance is reserved for winners. Highlighting that the constitution is real, the bill of rights is real, guaranteeing the rights of everyone--not just rich people, educated people, winners, or people of whom society approved--TAINTED EVIDENCE asks whether the jury will prove its wisdom and the perfection of the democratic system? Or will years of racial slurs and humiliations, years of corruption and brutality work against justice? For crooked cops in a department with a short memory, judges and prosecutors playing the long con, Harlemites just trying to survive, and city leaders after dollars, success is good, honor better, but justice above all.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, gritty and absorbing crime story!
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.

[selina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focusing on a trial, this book represents the point of view of attorneys and police officers in New York. In the beginning, you read about the action that later makes up the plot, and until the very end, you do not know how it will end.

This was a really interesting read, as I personally do not have any knowledge on how trials work, but I truly enjoyed following this process in all detail.

The story keeps you attached to it as you wonder how it will evolve, and once I was more into the storyline, it was quite hard to put the book down. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in the NYPD or attorneys.

[Ivan Benedict · Rating 4 out of 5]

There seems to me to be a reality in the stories of this book. The police and detectives in New York City face horrible situations and they are not always great people. Some are racist. There is a trial with lots of tension. There are personal and sexual situations. It is worth the read.

[Becky Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong racial profanities, and a weak ending. The trial storyline was interesting though.

[Ranette · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a new D A. is elected it is his job to rout out corruption. But what will he do when the corruption is close to home? A great detective book.

[Donald Trump · Rating 2 out of 5]

Low Energy!
** 2 Stars.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book especially the focus on District attorney's duties although not always followed to the letter but many times leaning toward promotions and community action groups. Karen comes along and is given a case which involves many policemen and one suspect who had done various crimes - the motive was looked at from both sides Karen for the state who giving her the title of Acting district Attorney failed to give her all of the records and resisting the push to accept a deal. I liked that she and her husband had been married many years with a family but though to much of the book was pointing to her affair with a detective who was one of the policemen charged. Although the verdict wasn't what I expected but like her reasoning and thought as to the result of the case.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a police procedural/city politics book with a Assistant DA prosecuting a case that seems open and shut but she is against a crafty and unprincipled Defense lawyer and is dealing with family problems and back stabbing in the DA's office. The writing is a bit dry and somewhat heavy and wordy. It didn't lend itself to looking for any followups by the author.
ISBN - 0-446-60083-0, Suspense, Pages - 436, Print Size - R, Rating - 3

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

My cousin gave me this book, knowing my taste for crime thrillers, and she was absolutely spot on with this pick. If the somewhat clumsy wording used in the early chapters of this book had been smoothed out I would have given this 4 stars. Nevertheless, it's worth reading if you like the crime thriller genre.

[Joshua Emil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Daley captured the feeling of patrolling the streets and prosecuting a major case. There were parts that didn't quite go with the title but still it is a good read where one can learn a part of New York City's history and the terms of investigating and prosecuting.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

NYPD detectives Muldoon and Barone seek a killer in Harlem. The raid to apprehend him results in 5 cops shot. The resulting trial, prosecuted by ADA Karen Henning is turned into a racial issue by the defense, while Henning is being considered for DA.

[Jackie Simons]

Read 7/94 & 1/96

[Nadinedebussy]

"roman de procédure judiciaire"

L'auteur sert dans l'United Air Force pendant la Guerre de Corée.
Journaliste au New York Times, il en est le correspondant en France de 1959 à 1964.

En 1981, paraît "L'année du Dragon" qui décrit le rôle de la mafia chinoise et la criminalité au sein de cette communauté. Un scénario est adapté de ce livre, un film est réalisé par Michael Cimino avec Mickey Rourke dont la voix française est assurée par un doubleur ou acteur.

"Le capitaine Stanley White, ancien vétéran de la Guerre du Viet Nam et fils d'immigrés d'origine polonaise, est flic à New York."

Dialogue écrit du film, qui a été soumis à une censure proche du CSA (organisme français de surveillance contre la violence audiovisuelle qui "garantit l'exercice de la liberté de communication audiovisuelle dans les conditions définies par la loi." ) mais instaurée par le studio et les producteurs du film :

"Je suppose que si vous faites la guerre trop longtemps, vous finissez par vous marier avec l'ennemi" est-ce une réplique proche d'un film de Walt Disney ? ou aussi réaliste qu'un passage du film Germano Saoudien "Wadjda" (2012) ?

"Haifaa Al Mansour, la réalisatrice de "Wadjda" , nous raconte qu’étant donné que les rues pour hommes sont séparées de celles des femmes, elle a dû se cacher dans une camionnette bon nombre de scènes. Dans une ville où aucun cinéma n’existe, c’était une vraie aventure pour la jeune femme de réaliser ce film."

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