IN MEMORIUM

A longtime friend and former partner of mine, Inspector Paul Delise,
has passed away . He was 86 years old.
A better friend and partner an honest cop could not wish for. He did not want any police or veterans fanfare, nor did He want a wake, funeral, or memorial service. He was also against having an obituary
in the newspaper.
Below is a paragraph from a Eulogy his daughter had written and distributed
to family members.
"My father worked as a police officer for New York City. He retired
after 30 years of service in the rank of Deputy Chief Inspector. During
his service he made a lot of good friends and a few enemies. His good
friends were those who were honest, like him. His enemies were those who
were dishonest and corrupt. He entertained countless people with his
police stories, especially during holiday dinners. He achieved some
notoriety in the latter part of his career by helping fellow officer,
Frank Serpico, expose the corruption on the force to the New York Times
which started an investigation that led to the Knapp Commission. I was
too young to appreciate or understand this. All I remember is how proud
I was to say my father was in a book and a movie that had something to
do with a guy named Frank Serpico, who worked under my father, but got
shot, but exposed some type of scandal, that later became the topic of
some famous investigation, that created a whole bunch of controversy,
but generated a lot of changes in the police department, that became the topic
of a lot of book deals in which my father was notoriously cited. I wish I
could honor my father better by speaking more eloquently on this topic but
I can't. I never really saw my father as a policeman. I saw him as a funny
guy, an artist, a philosopher, and a romantic who use to like to sing like
Mario Lanza at the top of his voice while driving down the Cross Bronx
Expressway."

I think most of his 6 children saw him in this light. Someone recently
referred to my father as a legend....I know he leaves behind a legacy to
which we are all proud.
I could not agree more.Even in life he was referred to as St.Paul.
The only retirement gift I received from the whole NYPD was from Paul in his usual funny way, a money clip with a detectives shield and the inscription;
"To Frank a good cop and a good friend"
I say ditto to you Paul I know you are in good company with all the other good saints.
Without you it would have never happened.

Det.Frank Serpico
NYPD Retired
- posted by Frank @ 11:56 AM