In March 2005, two retired New York City detectives were arrested without much fanfare outside of Piero’s, a restaurant near the Las Vegas Strip. There was no shootout or dramatic chase, just federal agents closing in on a story that had circulated in law enforcement circles for years.
The men in custody were Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa. Once-decorated members of the NYPD, they were charged with acting as paid killers for the Mafia.
A federal jury convicted them 20 years ago this month. By the spring of 2006, as they stood in a New York courtroom awaiting sentencing, the rumor that two NYPD detectives had secretly worked for the Mafia was no longer speculation. Federal prosecutor Daniel Wenner described it as “the bloodiest, most violent betrayal of the badge this city has ever seen.”…