THE BRONX RIOTS WHEN A WHITE NARCOTICS DETECTIVE KILLS AN UNARMED MAINTENANCE MAN. IS IT JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST MINORITIES, OR IS IT PART OF A BIGGER SCHEME?
Celeste Santiago, an aggressive, successful, and ambitious Assistant District Attorney, sees the shooting as a chance to launch her campaign to become the next Bronx County D A. Meanwhile, a trial attorney, famous for garnering multi-million dollar verdicts, represents the deceased's widow in the lawsuit against Kevin Knowles and NYPD.
A Bronx Bust is a story of cops and lawyers, judges and perps. Their worlds collide around the criminal trial and the wrongful death case. It is a tale of brutality and vengeance. The backroom deals and alliances formed on the street end with a twist that no one will see coming.
Praise for A Bronx Bust
"Uriel Gribetz knows the rough side of the law. His portraits of New York crime and its players deliver vivid, high-tension drama. Recommended.--John C. Boland, Publisher of Perfect Crime
A Bronx Bust by Uriel E. Gribetz is a tenacious crime thriller and police procedural that unfolds, as the title tells us, on the streets and courts of New York's famous borough, the Bronx...a gripping story, written with humor and detail; Gribetz delights with sleight-of-hand mastery, keeping everything moving nicely in this well-constructed crime novel. With deft dialogue, crisp plotting, and a likable central figure make this an exuberant and involving read. Highly recommended.-Geoffrey Gatza, poet, author and editor of BlazeVox
Excerpt
Sam approached the stiff. He was a young guy with wire rim glasses. The lenses had been shot out, and where his eyes were there were just holes with flesh, tissue, and blood exposed. His position looked staged, like someone had propped him up against the chimney as if to make it seem as though he were looking at something. Part of the stiff's face had been eaten away by the rats, exposing crooked buck teeth. The shooter had left the shattered lenses of his wire rims in place.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." Frank let the flashlight float up and down the length of the stiff. His voice was cracking. "That's Nooney. I'm pretty sure. That's why they called him Nooney, on account of his buck teeth." Frank aimed the light behind Nooney's left ear where there was a splotchy red birthmark that looked like an image from a Rorschach test. "Oh my God, that's him. I remember since he was a little kid, he had that mark behind his ear. We used to tease him and say someone spilled paint on him, and it couldn't be washed off."