The crime fighter

Why the crooks are on the run...and how to keep them running. The number one strategist in the war against crime is a colorful dandy with an attitude, a fixture on the celebrity scene at Elaine's restaurant, and, worst of all in the eyes of his critics, a former lieutenant in the despised New York City Transit Force--a subway cop who wears spectator shoes, bow ties and a homburg, and drinks champagne on ice. But former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Jack Maple was also an extraordinarily tough and brilliant cop, who rose through the ranks by being relentless, fearless and clever. As a young officer, he constantly got in trouble for making too many arrests (too much paperwork, said the bosses), and as a transit detective he pioneered the fabled decoy squad that drove criminals out of the subways in the 1980s. Most important, Maple had ideas--ideas that would transform New York City, then other cities, and change the way people think about crime.