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I'd like to introduce you to a new documentary

0:31

series called The

0:32

Set. Created

0:34

by Zach Leavitt, the

0:37

same creator behind the hit podcasts Root

0:40

of Evil, Gangster Capitalism, and

0:42

Relative Unknown.

0:43

The Set

0:45

tells the inside story of the biggest police corruption

0:47

scandal in

0:50

New York City history, and the

0:52

investigation that uncovered it all. It

0:55

was the height of the crack era and

0:58

the most violent time in New York City's

1:00

history. But instead of protecting

1:02

New Yorkers from drug dealers, some

1:05

police officers became them.

1:08

When a commission was formed to investigate police

1:11

misconduct, it discovered Harlem's

1:13

30th precinct

1:14

had been overrun with corruption. But

1:17

even worse, the NYPD

1:20

had been turning a blind eye. In

1:22

total, 33 officers were arrested

1:25

and convicted of corruption, and

1:27

the precinct became known as the Dirty 30.

1:29

In

1:31

The Set, we hear never-before-told

1:33

stories shared directly by the dirty

1:36

cops who were convicted, the undercover

1:38

internal affairs officer who blew the whistle,

1:41

and the investigators, prosecutors,

1:43

and police commissioner who exposed

1:45

the truth about what happened when

1:48

the world's largest police department

1:51

failed to police itself.

1:53

You

2:00

gotta get over it.

2:02

But apparently not. I

2:06

just, I'm not a bad guy,

2:08

man. Made a mistake

2:10

and I fucking went down on a wrong

2:12

path and I'm

2:15

not a bad guy.

2:17

But Zach, I mean, the

2:20

story should be told. From

2:25

Odyssey Originals, I'm Zach

2:27

Levitt, the creator of Root of Evil,

2:30

gangster capitalism, and relative unknown.

2:33

And this is a story about a time that

2:36

New York City would like to forget. Dangerous

2:39

times in New York City. The biggest city in America

2:41

is on the ropes. On the streets of New York, it's

2:44

called crack and the deals go down

2:46

quickly. It was the most violent

2:48

year in the city's history, the

2:50

height of the crack era. There were

2:52

no opportunities. You

2:54

got into the game back then, yo, you had

2:56

no choice. But if you moving

2:59

coke, you making money hand over

3:01

foot, baby. Entire

3:03

neighborhoods had been transformed into

3:05

open air drug markets. But

3:07

for some criminals brazen enough, even

3:10

the dealers became Marx. Was

3:12

it a common practice to break

3:14

into apartments which were suspected drug locations?

3:17

Yes. Why would you break into these

3:19

apartments?

3:20

For money, for drugs, whatever was

3:22

in there. Weren't you afraid

3:25

of getting caught at doing this? No.

3:29

Who's gonna catch us? We're

3:32

the police. We Americans

3:35

have an endless fascination with police stories.

3:37

Well, there's a police story being told here in

3:40

New York that is so shocking, you

3:42

couldn't make it up.

3:43

The New York City Police Department

3:45

was keeping a secret. Instead of locking

3:48

up drug dealers, some cops

3:50

were out on the streets competing with

3:52

them. I

3:55

would suit up in my uniform and you're

3:57

going out. our

4:00

fucking patrol. What are

4:02

we gonna do tonight? Well,

4:04

we're gonna rob some drug dealers, and

4:08

I know how to do it really

4:10

well. But

4:12

even worse, the NYPD knew and

4:15

allowed it to happen. They saw

4:17

their role as protecting

4:19

the department, not rooting

4:21

out corrupt cops.

4:23

A special commission was formed to

4:26

investigate the police department itself and

4:29

what it uncovered would shake the city

4:31

to its foundation. It was a banana

4:33

republic precinct operating in

4:35

the city of New York.

4:38

It was unbelievable. In

4:40

New York City tonight, a major scandal for the nation's

4:42

largest police force. This is the inside

4:45

story of the biggest police corruption

4:47

scandal in NYPD history and

4:50

the investigation that uncovered it all. We

4:53

told them that we wanted them to wear a wire.

4:56

They only got them on a few things, and

4:59

they get them on every time. And he said, okay.

5:01

All told for the first time by

5:03

the people who lived it. Did you consider

5:06

yourself a rat?

5:08

I saved my soul just

5:10

like everybody else does. I'm

5:13

not a bad guy, man, but I

5:16

can't explain it, man. I

5:19

loved being that dirty motherfucker.

5:23

Welcome to The Set, an Odyssey

5:26

Originals documentary podcast series.

5:28

Listen and follow on the Odyssey app or

5:30

wherever you get your shows. The

5:34

fuck up world or the fuck up the bomb, man?

5:36

If you like this preview, be sure to

5:38

search for The Set, available

5:40

now wherever you get your podcasts.

5:45

The Bull Work podcast focuses

5:47

on political analysis and reporting

5:49

without partisan loyalties. Real sense

5:51

of deja vu sprinkled on our PTSD.

5:54

So things are going well, I

5:56

guess. Every Monday through Friday, Charlie

5:58

Sykes speaks with guests about...