The Coffey Files: One Cop's War Against the Mob

by Joseph J. Coffey, Jerry Schmetterer

A former New York City cop describes his position commanding a special unit dedicated to solving Mafia murders, describing how his unit solved more than eighty mob murders and sent hundreds of mobsters to prison. National ad/promo.

Genres: True Crime

244 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Coffey Files, the story of Detective Joe Coffey of the New York Police Department, was originally published in 1991. Included in the book are stories from his time on the force in the '70s and 80's, which saw him on the task force that finally caught the infamous Son of Sam, working to bring down the mafia, and guarding The Pope and Joe Frazier.

There were a few problems with this book, the first being with the timeline. The book tends to jump all over the place which made it confusing and hard to follow at times. But the main problem was with Coffey himself; he may have been a great cop but he doesn't come off very likable in this book. His arrogance, swagger, and condescension towards women made him impossible to like or to even care about his story. Here's an example:

"At this point in his career, Joe had a low opinion of women’s value in police work, feeling that other than as specific decoys or in undercover operations, they were about as useful as artists’ sketches."

Another glaring example is Coffey's assertion, over and over again, of how others in the force were plainly jealous of him. As the book states:

"Like Joe, Ferguson also spent almost as much time fighting off the green-eyed monster as chasing crooks."

That type of attitude was found countless times in the book and Coffey's arrogance was ultimately impossible to ignore. Other than that, it could have been a great book. Still, it was decent and fairly interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a true life person N.Y Detective Joseph Coffey. He describes different cases that he worked on and when he is assigned the task of heading up the Mafia task force. He gives back ground on his childhood and the reasons for wanting to join the force and who things worked out for him to be assigned and able to pick the men he wanted to work with when he formed the tasked force. You get a little back ground into the son of Sam case he worked on plus others, he also takes you through some of the politics of the force of the 70’s and 80’s. He also speaks of his working or nonworking relationship with the FBI and that was BS. What they did to him. He does give a lot of credit to his wife and children for her understanding and her wonderful job as a mother and wife. I thought that was really nice since divorce is so high that he gave her much space in the book spoke volumes to me that he did not take her for granted. He also gives time to his children as well. Over all a good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[a.t.m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, based on the life of a great cop in New York.

The book was well written and held my interest from beginning to end. Many of the problems caused by the mafia still exist. Because of men like Joe Coffey, we can sleep at night knowing that in time, justice will be served.

[Jaswinder Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary cop

Gripping and a fantastic insight of Mr Coffey and the NYPD. As a cop myself. I am jealous of the investigation’s which Mr Coffey got to investigate. Legendary cop

[Ian Totten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, if slightly unbelievable and disjointed read

[Charlene McGrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting

Joe Coffey had a great career and was very successful. This was fun to learn about the mafia and the Son of Sam.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good followup read to Murder Machine.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong, journalistic account of one of NYC's finest detectives, the man behind busting and destroying the biggest figures in organized crime, nailing Son of Sam, and keeping the company of too many colorful scumbags, gutter-dwelling informants, weirdos, corrupt cops, and, worse, dishonorable FBI agents and politicians. What little you may like about the man, there is enough to find in Coffey's exploits to enjoy this trip back to NYC of the 70s and early 80s.