It’s Serpico!
Warrior vs. cop corruption running for office
STUYVESANT, N.Y. — He’s a political neophyte whose name — Frank Serpico — is synonymous with his single campaign issue: Corruption.
The famously scrupulous ex-cop — key witness in the 1971 Knapp Commission police probe, played by Al Pacino in the movie “Serpico” — is one week into an improbable run for a seat on the town board in this upstate burg.
“I’m not Republican, I’m not Democrat,” Serpico says over coffee on an overcast morning at an organic farm store. “I thought we elected people, not parties.”
The hero detective remains as quirky and quotable as ever. “I don’t kiss babies,” Serpico quips of his campaign style. “They grow up to be crooked adults.”
But he’s serious about shaking things up in the town of 2,300 about two hours north of his old beat in Brooklyn’s 81st Precinct.
A local business is printing his flyers and lawn signs, and Serpico began one recent morning by shaking hands at the local post office.
He’s done interviews with radio stations in Brazil and Italy, and one far-flung fan emailed to ask if there was a cap on campaign contributions.
Serpico, while running locally, sees himself representing all those who share his global view.
“I’m not running for myself,” says Serpico, his Brooklyn accent unchanged by time or geography. “When a baby soils his diaper, he gets changed. That’s how I feel about politicians.”
Serpico remains slim and sprightly at 79, though he’s deaf in one ear from a near-fatal 1971 shooting during a drug bust gone wrong.
The first-time candidate sports a diamond stud earring and gray stubble, a well-worn green polo shirt and work pants with homemade patches above both knees.
Serpico’s call to political arms followed a knock-down, drag-out battle with a neighbor who took down several trees without permission on the ex-detective’s property.
The whistle-blowing Serpico felt the local district attorney and town judge conspired to aid the neighbor as the case moved forward — a charge both have dismissed as ridiculous.
But when the neighbor pleaded guilty to trespassing and merely paid a $350 fine, Serpico flashed back to his NYPD past and decided to make a stand.
“Somebody said to me, ‘It’s such a little town, there’s not many people there,’ ” Serpico recounts. “Well, this is where corruption takes root, where nobody is looking.”
Serpico bought a 50-acre property in the leafy Columbia County community in 1968, and eventually moved in after building his own cabin in the early ’80s.
He lived alone, and loved the area.
“This was my healing place,” he says. “Now it’s turned into a nightmare, and I ended up back where I was with the Police Department — fighting corruption all over again.”
Serpico flatly equates his battle against the blue-clad bagmen of the ’60s with the partisan politics in Republican-run Stuyvesant.
Local resident Leland Lehrman, 46, appeared genuinely delighted by candidate Serpico.
“That dude!” he said with admiration. “It’s going to be interesting. His message in general resonates with a lot of people: Justice.”
Lee Jamison, chairwoman of the town Democratic committee, thinks Serpico can energize local voters in the Nov. 3 election for two board seats.
“We Americans love our heroes,” said Jamison. “I think his odds of winning are as good as anybody.”
While acknowledging the instant attention given his candidacy, Serpico bristles at the idea that he’s just a boldfaced name.
“I never considered myself a celebrity,” Serpico said. “I consider myself a human being, and I don’t take that lightly. That’s a big responsibility.”
Despite the candidate’s demurral, a young clerk at a local print shop asks to snap a photo when Serpico arrives to check on the progress of his campaign flyers.
One captured Serpico, hair dark and beard bushy, behind a sea of microphones at a Knapp Commission hearing.
“Is that you?” the young man asks.
“No,” Serpico deadpans. “It’s Al Pacino.”
I’m not Republican, I’m not Democrat. I thought we elected people, not parties. Frank Serpico