Voila! Finally, the Serpico
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Al Pacino movie. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Serpico. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
This is car 2119 .
Call Greenpoint Hospital.
We're bringing in a wounded cop.
All right? - .
25th Precinct.
Jesus Christ.
Guess who got shot.
Serpico.
You think a cop did it?
I know six cops
said they'd like to.
Hello.
New York Times.
Serpico's been shot.
Oh, my God!
- They're taking him to Greenpoint.
- I'll see you there.
To be a police officer
means to believe in the law...
and to enforce it impartially...
respecting the equality
of all men...
and the dignity and worth
of every individual.
Every day, your life
will be on the line...
and also your character.
You'll need integrity,
courage, honesty...
compassion, courtesy...
and perseverance...
and patience.
You men are now prepared
to join the war against crime...
and put the theory you have learned
into practice in the streets.
Same time, same place--
both reports.
I already made out a .
- You covering this, Lieutenant?
- Yes, Chief Green.
Who was with Serpico?
- Heinemann and Julio.
- I want them interrogated.
I want this conducted as an offiicial
departmental investigation.
Transcripts by : a.m.
Another thing--
I want a -hour guard on Serpico.
- Yes, sir.
- You two, over there.
Anthony Sardo.
Ralph Seidler.
Frank Serpico.
Come on.
Marianne wants a good shot.
Get closer!
Patrolman Serpico.
Upstairs.
See the roll-call man.
Memorize your posts and sectors.
This week you're : to : .
Next week, : to midnight.
Grab a locker.
Any questions, older guys will
fiill you in. Good luck.
Yo! : .
Let's go! Come on!
Gather around. Let's go.
All right. Settle down.
All right. Just a few announcements
today and two new men.
On the board on my left,
you see squad one, blue sector--
squad two, red sector--
squad three, green sector.
Now, we want summonses,
summonses, summonses.
I'll help the boys, Florence.
- This is Frank Serpico, Charlie.
- Hello, Frank.
- Hello, Charlie.
- How about some creamed chicken?
- Sounds good to me.
- No, I think I'll have--
How about a roast beef on roll?
Yeah, okay. You go through
the line. I'll bring it over.
Peluce, it's all fat here.
- I saw real lean beef over there.
- Take it easy.
Sit down, sit down.
- What's the matter?
- Don't be so fussy. It's free.
Well, I'm not fussy.
I don't know how I'm gonna eat this.
Charlie's okay. We give him a break
on double parking on deliveries.
Couldn't I pay for it,
get what I want?
Frank, generally, you just sort of
take what Charlie gives you.
Sector D-David? ?
possible rape in progress...
vicinity of PS ?
Grand Avenue and BQ Expressway.
Becker, aren't
we gonna take that?
Relax, Frank.
It's not our sector.
It's on the borderline.
I'm gonna take it.
D sector, - .
Oh, my God!
Hold it! Hold it!
Police offiicers!
Oh, shit!
- Come on. Give us--
- Don't shoot now.
Be cool.
All right. Okay.
Put your guns away.
Put your guns away, man.
Come on. Goddamn it!
I said put them
motherfucking guns away!
I'll cut her, goddamn it.
Turn the motherfucking
light out, man.
I'll cut her, man.
I'll cut her.
Now, you just be cool,
goddamn it.
Just be cool. All right.
All right. All right.
That's it.
The other one took his thing out.
He put it up to my mouth.
He-- He held me down.
They said if I didn't do it...
they'd kill me.
She's gonna make
a hell of a witness.
Would you like a stretcher?
Muscles, he's all yours.
I'll call you from the hospital.
Okay, hard-on.
Who were your playmates?
Hey, Frank,
you want a piece of this?
No. I'm gonna fiill out
the arrest card.
Hey, Charlie, let me have
fiive minutes with him.
- Sure.
- Thanks.
Thank you, Charlie.
That prick really worked you over.
How do you feel?
How come you didn't
stay for the fun?
That's not my kind of fun.
Shit.
I want to talk to you.
I want to take you across the
street, get you a cup of coffee...
without cuffs.
Now, look. I didn't touch you
upstairs, right?
You take off on me,
I'll put one in your back.
Understand?
Come on.
lt's a goddamn shame you gotta take
this whole rap yourself.
I don't know. Maybe you're guilty,
maybe you're not.
Maybe you just
went along for the ride.
I got a feeling
you just went along.
But you're the one
who got caught.
You never even
got your cock out.
- Put it in the report.
- It's in the report.
Look at you.
- I can't eat.
- No, you can't.
I don't understand you,
you know that?
What are you,
obligated to those guys?
Fuck it.
They left you holding the bag.
You don't owe them nothin'.
They're gonna put you away,
you know that?
What can I get?
Oh, let's see--
kidnapping...
sodomy, rape--
Are you kidding me?
You talk to me.
Save yourself.
Let it go, Harv!
Take the shot.
You not gonna send someone over?
Look, look.
McCoy, I get one,
I'm gonna lose the other.
Look, Serpico, that's Muscles' case.
He's off for a couple days.
- l can't cut in? Frank.
- They're here now!
- lt'll keep.
- No, it won't!
Police offiicer!
Hold it! Hold it!
Turn around. Turn around.
- Ow!
- Spread!
Come on, man. Come on.
Please take that gun from my head.
Turn around slow.
We'll take it from here, kid.
You don't have to hang around.
What are you talking about?
That's my collar.
We take the collar.
A collar like this, don't look good,
a patrolman takes it.
Wait a minute.
I don't care how it looks.
Now, I did the work. I broke my ass
on this. It's my collar.
You really want the collar, kid?
You can be brought up on charges.
Left your post, the street, entered
the school yard without permission--
That's just for openers.
Right, Penella?
No memo entry. Shit. You'll be lucky
to end up with a reprimand.
We'll give you an assist
on the arrest, kid.
Come on, Frankie!
Jim, get out of the way!
What are you doing?
What you want me to do?
Go across the street?
- Hey, Frank.
- Hi, Uncle Will. How you doing?
- Hey, Pasquale.
- Hey, Frankie! How you doing?
Okay. How you doing?
Where's Pop?
Be back in a half hour.
How's it going, Frankie?
Okay.
I come to get my shoes.
Rev it up. Rev it up!
- Here they are.
- Frankie, how you doing?
Okay. Good job.
You people do good work here.
So, how you doing, Frankie?
You keep asking me that. What's
the matter with you? I'm doing okay!
Well, I thought you were coming over
to the house Saturday night.
I'm sorry, Pasquale.
I couldn't make it.
Margaret invited Marianne over.
Marianne was very disappointed--
Now, look. I don't like that.
I mean, really.
Don't invite people over
if you're not sure I'm gonna come.
I mean it, now. If I want to
see Marianne, I'll call her.
What's going on
with you two anyway?
Hey, Pasquale,
I'm gonna tell you something.
See, all day long,
I work with cops. Right?
Now, when I go out,
I see Marianne...
her father's a cop, her brother's
a cop, her uncle's a cop.
- I got a feeling she's a cop too.
- Come here!
- How you doing on the job?
- It's got its problems.
Mama tells me that you're looking
for a new apartment. Is that true?
- Yeah.
- So, where are you going?
I don't know.
I'm looking around by school.
NYU? Greenwich Village?
- Yeah, Greenwich Village.
- What's the matter?
The old neighborhood's
not good enough for ya?
Tell Pop I was here.
Frankie, Sunday?
Sunday what?
Dinner? Huh?
- Do me one favor-- no Marianne.
- I know. No Marianne.
All right.
A couple of announcements.
''Announcing a course in
fiingerprint identifiication...
to be given at John Jay College.
This course will be available
to those patrolmen...
who wish to make themselves
eligible for assignment...
to the Bureau of
Criminal Identifiication, BCI...
which is generally considered to be
a path to a detective's gold shield.
Signed, Captain McGuire.''
On the board on my left,
you see squad one--
Hot enough for ya?
It's not the heat.
It's the humidity.
I had a feeling
you were gonna say that.
You know how long
you're taking on that one?
Check one print category, two--
That's plenty.
I'm not gonna give a guy a
''no record'' when he might have one.
How long you been
with the BCI now, Serpico?
All my life.
That's long enough to know
how we do things.
Barto, it's not just that.
You don't like me.
BCI never had
a weirdo cop before.
Barto, stop buggin' me.
Mama?
Wanna buy a puppy?
Look at that, huh?
Where'd you get these dogs?
Oh, they're mine.
Want one for free?
- I'll pay for it. How much?
- Five dollars.
You got it.
Okay, now which one
of you guys wanna come with me?
What?
Come on.
- Could you do me a favor?
- What?
Just watch the car and my stuff
over here, 'cause I'm movin' in.
- Yeah.
- Thank you.
Don Quixote.
Senorita Land?
Mr. Serpico.
I got my horse here.
Maybe I could drop you someplace.
Well, I'm going to work
at the Café Reggio.
Café Reggio.
- That's th Street and--
- MacDougal and rd.
- Can I give you a lift?
- Yeah. Sure.
Jesus, what's that?
You got your hands on
my money belt. Don't do that.
That's not a money belt.
That's a gun.
- Well, we gotta eat, don't we?
- Oh, come on!
- What do you need a gun for?
- Ever hear of Barnum and Bailey?
- Yeah.
- Well, I'm their lion tamer.
- Come on.
- That's the truth.
- I think you're full of shit.
- You do, huh?
- What do you do?
- Me?
I'm an actress, a singer,
a dancer and a Buddhist.
In that order?
- I'm a cop. Would you believe that?
- No, I wouldn't believe it.
Those leaps that guy made,
what do you call 'em again?
Jetés.
You try it.
All right. How do you start it?
What's your position?
Next life. Come on.
What are you reading now,
Serpico?
My Life by Isadora Duncan.
She was a ballet dancer.
A belly dancer?
No. No, a ballet dancer.
Ballet.
- You know ballet?
- A little.
- A little bit? You ever see one?
- Not close.
I've been to the ballet.
It's terrifiic.
- I've been taking classes.
- Oh, yeah?
That's where I go
after I leave here.
Fantastic for your body.
Really builds you up.
- I can tell.
- You noticed, huh?
I noticed.
There's fiive positions.
Five pos--
You're being shortchanged.
- Oh, no. It's enough. Believe me.
- For what?
Watch. See?
This is the fiirst position.
From this position,
I can do anything.
- You want to see?
- Sure.
Here we go.
Bye, Barto!
- Lieutenant Steiger--
- No, no. Later.
- Hey, turn off the lights.
- Potts, I wanted to read.
Positions, positions!
Positions like that you don't see
in a pretzel factory.
Now I gotta do my pee-pee
in the dark.
She's gotta be a nympho
with positions like that.
Hey, Serpico, how can you piss
at a time like this?
Barto wants a specimen.
I'm gonna look into this matter.
- What do you got there?
- Here.
Straight ahead.
- Straight ahead where?
- Third window down.
- I don't see anything over there.
- Let me see.
She just pulled down the shade.
- You gotta be some kind of jinx.
- That's right. Blame me.
Hold it, Serpico.
What were you two doing?
- What?
- In the shithouse in the dark!
Were you goin' down on him?
-What are you talking about?
-You gonna tell me you were peeping?
You were sucking his cock,
weren't you?
- What are you, crazy?
- I'll show you fuckin' crazy!
Last week I found a pair of shorts
with semen on 'em!
There!
You actually accusing me of this?
Good morning, Captain McClain.
I'm Offiicer Serpico.
I was told I could
talk to you, sir.
Certainly, son.
Come in.
Lieutenant Steiger
won't make a report.
He's too concerned with
the image of his department.
But it-- it could affect
your future in the BCI.
Sir, I tell you--
Frankly,
I don't see any future there.
It was bullshit about it being
a path toward being detective...
because I've been there
two years now--
And you want a transfer.
Yes, sir, but I don't wanna
go back to uniform.
I'll see what I can do, Frank.
Francis, do you know about my
weekend retreats for Catholic offiicers?
Well, you read that.
It might be of interest to you.
You are Catholic?
- Yeah. I was baptized, yes.
- Good, good.
Alfiie, come on.
I missed you, baby.
She's so crazy, that girl,
I tell you.
Why Paco?
All my friends call me Paco.
Could you do me a favor?
- Get my keys out of this pocket.
- Sure.
Well, what'll I call you--
Frank or Paco?
Sally! Larry!
This is Paco.
- Hey, man.
- Larry's a poet.
But he works for
an advertising agency.
Sally's an actress,
but works for a photographer.
Paco's a policeman.
That's terrifiic.
I work for the police department.
- That's really nice.
- Wow.
See ya.
- How are you?
- Pat's a novelist.
But you're working for an insurance
company now, aren't you?
- Yes, I am.
- Yeah. Paco's a policeman.
Really? How exciting!
Well, not too.
Right now, I'm fiiling fiingerprints.
Listen,
I fiile insurance policies.
We should get together then,
fiile or something.
- That was an improvement.
- I wanna ask you something.
How come all your friends are
on their way to being somebody else?
Think about that. I wanna
ask you something else too.
Will you do me a big favor?
Don't tell anybody I'm a cop.
You know, let me just sort of
do it myself.
Okay.
Hey, man,
are you really a cop?
- Right. I am.
- Wow.
You know,
Leslie is a mind fucker.
You gotta be kidding.
I didn't know that.
What's a mind fucker?
Well, that's a chick...
who digs intellectual types
and super-bright guys.
Oh, yeah?
Well, she's very perceptive.
You know,Japanese culture
and theater and painting...
it's too rigidly stylized.
Well, yeah, you know--
Yeah, but--
I think after a while,
when you get through that...
you start to appreciate the
clarity-- you know, the authority.
I got a sheep dog.
There have been
sheep dogs in my family...
dating back...
for generations--
- Dating back to the Borgias.
- Oh, shit!
The family crest...
is a sheep dog
pissing into a gondola.
Oh, shit!
Paco, everybody loves you!
I love you!
Hey, Lieutenant,
my wife call for me?
Give her this, will ya?
Offiicer Serpico reporting, sir.
That fucking thing on your lip,
it goes. And get a haircut.
- Sir--
- That's an order.
You look like an asshole
with dentures.
- Do I have the right of appeal, sir?
- Sure. Go see Captain Tolkin.
You got one foot in shit already.
Put the other one in.
Where might that be,
I wonder, sir?
Thank you, sir.
That is one hell of a mustache.
I wish I had the guts.
Well, I have what I consider to be
good reasons for wearing it, sir.
- You don't have to tell me.
- But I'd like to tell ya, sir.
I thought so.
I think it's time that we started
to communicate more on the streets.
You know, the way it is,
we're totally isolated, sir.
We're completely out of touch
with what's happening.
An undercover cop walks around
in disguise...
wearing black shoes
and white socks.
Everybody knows who he is.
You made your point.
I want you to keep your mustache.
And I'd like you to patrol
in your own car.
Wear whatever you want.
How does that strike you?
I'd like that, sir.
To be honest,
I'm bucking for detective.
No shit.
Hold it!
What the hell are you doing?
Oh, Christ!
Quick. Get against there.
Hey!
I'm a police offiicer!
Get over there!
Hey! It's me, Serpico!
Hey, I'm a police offiicer!
Police offiicer!
Poli-- I'm an offiicer!
I'm a police offiicer!
Jesus, Frank, how was I
supposed to recognize you?
- You stupid fuck.
- Frank, I didn't know you!
You didn't know me?
You fiire without looking?
You fiire without a warning,
without a fucking brain in your head?
Oh, shit.
If I buy one, you motherfucker,
I'm not gonna buy it from you.
Holy shit.
Look at that mess.
Filling out forms till next month.
Good.
Hey,Jesus, Frank...
I know it's a hell
of a time to ask you...
but I'm gonna have to go through
all that ballistics bullshit--
Good. You should.
It's gonna look like hell if I
don't have anything to show for it.
Frank, do me a favor.
Give us the collar.
You motherfucker.
You want the collar, huh? You
don't wanna fiill out forms, right?
Here.
- You're a buddy.
- I'm a buddy.
Only you tell Tolkin
I gave it to you.
I am passing out these marijuana
cigarettes for you to sample...
so that when you become
plainclothesmen...
you'll be able to identify
the pungent aroma...
and recognize the disorienting effect
of the drug...
when you observe them
in narcotics suspects.
Among users of the drug...
a marijuana cigarette...
is referred to as reefer...
stick, roach, joint.
The drug itself
is referred to as pot...
tea, boo...
stuff, grass.
Hey, this is real good shit.
- I gotta have something to eat.
- Oh, look what it is.
Look what it is.
It's a potato factory is what it is.
And I have to have some,
and I love you-- I love it.
Have some of that. We have
nothing to-- I have to have a dime?
The dime goes
in the little slot there.
That doesn't work.
It's from the Civil War, this machine.
- Pull on it.
- Doesn't, doesn't, doesn't--
- Go ahead, go ahead.
- Shoot it out. Please!
I beg of you! Come out!
Potatoes, come out!
You're pretty fuckin' weird
for a cop.
Me? You!
- What about you, buddy? You!
- You're the weird guy. Me?
- You're a fuckin' hippie.
- It's beautiful, though.
The two of us.
Give me.
Where you supposed
to go from here?
Precinct, plainclothes.
Put your gun away.
You?
I am scheduled to go
on special assignment...
with the mayor's department
of investigations, detective squad.
- That's gold shield.
- Yeah.
No four years in plainclothes?
Who do you know?
I make it my business to know
people-- people who can help.
Unfair.
Unfair.
Life is unfair, pal.
I mean, look, you've got
a feel for the streets, and I--
- I've got a feel for the politics.
- Oh, yeah?
You and me in a Batmobile, we could
clean up the whole city in no time.
I wonder if we can get candy
out of this machine though.
No, thanks.
Well, this is a good place
to tell you, Paco.
You know that guy in Texas
I was telling you about?
- What about him?
- I'm gonna marry him in two months...
unless you marry me.
What about the theater
and your dancing?
A girl has to get
married sometime.
Well, you're a long way
from sometime, Leslie.
I thought you were committed.
I am, but--
You are, but?
I can go on working,
studying there.
Where? Fort Worth?
Amarillo.
Well, am I invited
to the wedding?
I'll ask Roy.
Yeah, it's pretty good
in this precinct.
Here you go.
Usually a : to : day is the
best time for policy and bookmaking.
If you have to work nights, like
a liquor violation, just call in.
Don't worry about
quotas right now.
Couple of hooker collars
will keep it cool.
Been holding this for you.
It's from Jewish Max.
First day on the precinct,
I get that.
This is great, Frank.
I can open up a whole can
of peas with this.
It's scary.
I wanna protect myself.
- You know what we do with this?
- What?
We take it to
Inspector Kellogg.
Kellogg-- Didn't he used
to be in plainclothes?
He's the second-highest ranking cop
in the department of investigations.
- So what?
- What do you mean, ''so what?''
I happened to be instrumental
in getting the man his job.
He owes me.
You understand?
He's the most honest cop
I know, Frank.
Frank, trust me.
Things like this were common
practice in the bad old days.
Hard to believe
it's still going on.
Serpico, don't you think
it's kind of stupid...
taking an envelope from somebody
you didn't know?
What was I supposed to do?
I mean, give me--
How would I know what was in it
unless I took it?
You have two alternatives.
You can force me to take you to
the commissioner of investigations.
He'll drag you in front
of a grand jury.
- I don't want that.
- I can understand that.
Word will get out.
Before it's all over, they'll fiind
you face-down in the East River.
- What's the other alternative?
- Forget it.
Well, what do I do with this?
Hey, Sarge?
You got a minute?
Colored cop gave me this.
I didn't know what to do with it.
Well, I'll send it on
to the Benevolent Association.
Alfiie, come on.
Is that Bjoerling?
No. It's DiStefano.
I was sure it was Bjoerling.
You could hear it
better over here.
- That's an invitation, right?
- Right.
For coffee.
I'll have to take a rain check.
I'm due at the hospital.
Why don't you call in sick?
Perfect place.
Not me.
What are you,
dedicated or somethin'?
That's right, I'm dedicated.
Most men can't stand it.
- Well, what do they know?
- I like your garden.
Love my garden.
Okay. I love your garden.
You know what they say,
don't you?
No. What do they say?
If you love a man's garden,
you gotta love the man.
You like her, Alfiie?
All I can tell you, sir,
is I gave it back.
I gotta get out of the .
Well, what happened on
your narcotics application?
Looked like it was set, until
I told 'em I was in plainclothes.
It was like
the kiss of death.
They think everybody in clothes
is on the take.
Sir, do you know anything about
the Bronx th Division?
I can go there if I want,
but if it's the same shit, screw it.
I'd rather answer phones for Spanish
communications unit and go nuts.
Come on, Alfiie.
Frank, did anyone
ever tell you...
that you have a tendency
toward self-pity?
No, you're the fiirst.
All right. Frank, I have
a friend up there, Roy Palmer.
He's an administrative offiicer.
I'll speak with him.
- Good. Thank you, sir.
- Good-bye, Frank.
- God bless you.
- Right.
Frank? Captain McClain here.
Captain McClain. Could you
hold on a minute please, sir?
Sure.
Yeah. Sorry.
I saw Inspector Palmer tonight...
and he assures me the th Division
is as clean as a hound's tooth.
His words, Frank.
''Clean as a hound's tooth.''
l told him he was getting
a hardworking officer...
wears a beard, speaks Spanish and
would make a superb undercover man.
He was delighted.
That's good news, sir.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Good-bye? Frank.
God bless.
When did you start doing that?
McClain says that Palmer says...
that the th is as clean
as a hound's tooth.
Well, if that's true,
your problems are over.
Plainclothes division.
Upstairs.
- How are you? Good to see you!
- All right.
We heard you were
coming up here. Listen.
Say hello to Nate Smith.
Frank Serpico.
-Jamie Morales, Frank Serpico.
- Serpico?
Hey, babe, you're gonna
love it up here. It's beautiful.
Listen, take--
I'll see youse later, all right?
Take a little ride with me.
Get the feel of the division.
- Maybe I should check in fiirst.
- Fuck that. Come on.
Deck the halls
with boughs of holly
Ten grand, Dallas--
if Minnesota. Right.
Green Bay, and a half at--
You dumb fuck.
We told you this location's hot.
We told you to stay the fuck
out of here.
Keough, nobody told me.
Honest.
Bullshit.
Come on.
Let's take a walk.
Hi, kid.
All right, a C-note apiece.
No way. We got a complaint.
Right, Frank? Come on.
All right.
Make it Keough.
Hey, what, are you getting cheap
in your old age, bambino?
- Three.
- Three?
You heard me.
- All right, three.
- I'll make it a light one.
- You wanna write this up?
- No, I'm gonna check in.
Take the collar, Frank.
Get on the sheet.
I better check in.
We're gonna have
a little talk later, right?
That dumb schmuck only came up with
two bills because I booked him?
Here you go, Frank.
It was your collar.
Keep it.
I had a hunch
you weren't gonna take it.
You know, Frankie, we got a call
about you from downtown.
Now, I ain't sayin' who.
They just said you couldn't
be trusted, you know?
- Because I don't take money, right?
- Come on, Frank.
Let's face it. Who can trust
a cop who don't take money?
I mean, you are pretty weird,
you know, kid?
And with that call, the guys
were gettin' a little worried.
I told them you were okay.
I knew you from the old .
You'd never hurt
another cop, right?
You'd never hurt another cop,
would you, Frank?
- That'd depend on what he did.
- That's the wrong answer, Frankie.
We're not doing
anything bad here.
We're skimming
a little gambling money.
It's clean. It's not dope.
It hurts nobody.
Come on, Frank.
Gamblers are gentlemen, and
they're gonna operate anyhow, right?
Look, Keough, you don't have to
explain yourself to me.
Do what you got to do.
Want some tea?
No, I don't like that shit.
I'll have a coffee, huh?
What's the matter, Frank?
What are you worried about?
Listen.
We don't go overboard here.
We're not sloppy.
We're careful.
The spicks, niggers, we bust them.
They operate so dumb and sloppy...
they get your ass
in hot water every time.
But the Italians, now,
that's a different story.
They're men of their word.
They're reliable, Frankie.
- You really got it analyzed.
- Fuckin' right I got it analyzed.
It's worth it.
You know how much
the nut's running now, Frankie?
- No, I wouldn't know that.
- $ a month.
That's clams every time your
girlfriend gets the curse tax free.
Here's the beauty. You don't
get it for the fiirst eight weeks...
till the guys get to
know you and you're okay.
But you don't lose, either, 'cause
you get it on the other end...
when you leave the division.
Frankie, it's like--
it's like severance pay.
Think it over, all right?
In or out.
Look at me. I'm shaking.
All my life I wanted
to be a cop, you know?
It's like I can remember
nothing else.
I remember this one time...
there was--
Somethin' happened.
A domestic argument or somethin'.
Somebody stabbed somebody.
And...
there was this crowd
around this tenement.
I must have been nine,
ten years old. I was this big.
I went over to see
what was going on.
I noticed the red light
goin' around and around...
all these people,
and I couldn't see.
I kept saying, ''Do you know
what's goin' on? Do you know?''
Nobody knew.
It was like a big mystery
behind that--
that crowd there.
All of a sudden...
the crowd just parted...
like the Red Sea, you see?
And there were these guys
in blue, and I said...
''They know.''
What do they know?
What do they know?
It's amazing.
It's incredible...
but I feel like a criminal
'cause I don't take money.
You get so tense
when you talk about it.
I wonder why.
Come here.
- Right there.
- Here?
I'm gonna ask you
a question, okay?
Do you like cops?
You're my fiirst.
No, I mean all this shit I've been
telling you. Do you believe it?
Why not?
- Does it shock you?
- Not much.
What's the matter with me?
Everybody knows about cops.
Did you ever hear the story
of the wise king?
Nope, but I got the feeling
I'm gonna hear it.
Well, there was this king,
and he ruled over his kingdom.
Right in the middle of the kingdom
there was a well.
That's where everybody drank.
One night,
this witch came along...
and she poisoned the well.
And the next day, everybody drank
from it except the king...
and they all went crazy.
They got together
in the street and they said...
''We got to get rid of the king,
'cause the king is mad.''
And then that night, he went down
and he drank from the well.
And the next day
all the people rejoiced...
because their king
had regained his reason.
I think you're trying
to tell me somethin'.
- Me?
- Yeah.
Hey, Frank, I want you
to say hello to somebody.
-Drop your cocks and grab your socks!
-What the fuck is this?
Frank Serpico,
say hello to Don Rubello.
- He's gonna be your new partner.
- How you doin'?
If you don't want to work with this
fucking nut for some reason, man...
I'll buddy up with him,
all right?
And go through all that crap
changing assignments?
No. We'll be okay.
We're paisans? huh?
- What's with the fucking mouse?
- It's my partner.
- Partner?
- He's specially trained, you know?
He goes to track down heroin.
Let him loose, goes into the hole,
picks it up, brings it back...
sniffs it out,
brings it to you.
- Yeah. I heard of that.
- You heard of that?
This guy I'm looking for,
Vernon--
He's a numbers collector who ain't
been meeting his obligations.
He won't be hard to spot.
He's a mover. This is prime time.
Since we're partners,
you gotta know the situation.
Straight off.
I collect for the division--
me and two other bagmen.
That's what Keough
was sort of hinting at.
Three of us pick up
the payoff twice a month.
Hey!
Look, there he is.
Son of a bitch!
- Look out!
- You stupid bastard!
Where's the money?
You been jerking me around,
you fuck! Huh?
Ain't no money!
I'm behind now, man!
Three times you never show,
right?
I'll have it for you tonight,
I swear.
Don't bust me!
Last time, Vernon.
The last time.
You fuck me and you're gone,
you hear? You hear? Huh?
See you at the Domino,
midnight.
And you'd better have $ ya fuck.
You hear? Right? Right?
All right, Frank.
I keep this place
for socializing.
Someday we'll get a couple of
broads, huh? Have a little party.
Hey!
Make some ice.
Booze is right over here.
So what do you think, Frank?
About the money?
Look, Don...
if I was broke, if I had a family--
I don't know.
But I'm not broke,
and I don't have a family.
So why the fuck stick my neck out?
You know what I mean?
It's already out, Frank--
not taking the money.
It's better the other guys
don't know that.
Hey, I tell you what I'll do.
I'll hold your share
for you, huh?
You change your mind,
it'll be right in here.
Right in here,
right down to the penny, huh?
Hey. Look at that.
- What are you drinking?
- Give me a scotch.
Next thing I wanna do, I wanna
get a color TV for the games.
Hey, how about some gin?
Penny a point. Huh?
Yeah.
Let me ask him fiirst.
Hello, Frank.
Get in.
My God, Frank.
This is confiidential.
My God, Frank.
This is confiidential.
He's a police offiicer.
I thought maybe he could sit in.
No, absolutely not.
All right, all right.
I notifiied Commissioner Delaney
about everything you told me.
He wants you to stay where you are
and continue to collect information.
Then you'll be
his eyes and his ears.
He said he was delighted
that, quote...
''A man of integrity
had surfaced,'' unquote.
When do I hear from him?
He said he'd reach out for you
when the time comes.
Reach out?
See, you know, my situation's
pretty fuckin' sticky up there.
I mean, what am I supposed to do?
Just wait for him--
- You must have patience, Frank.
- But it's pretty fucking sticky.
Patience and faith.
When a man like the commissioner
says he'll get in touch with you...
he'll get in touch with you.
Good-bye, son.
God bless you.
All right, now.
Marinda's too hot.
We got to lay off him
for a couple of months.
And listen, Falco's got two runners
he ain't paying for.
Check that fucking guy out, huh?
Hey, Frankie, how are you?
- How are you?
- Rubello's being transferred...
so you're gonna have to work
with a new bagman.
Al Sarno, I want you to meet Frank
Serpico. This'll be your new man.
- How are you?
- Fine.
Listen, you know that operation
down by Hunt's Point, the new one?
What are we gonna do about that?
Who are we givin' to?
You the new bagman,
you prick?
What happened to Rubello, you son
of a bitch? You narco cop fucker!
Wait a minute.
You know, Frank,
sometimes I ask myself...
what the fuck am I doing?
You know,
if this ever came out--
Christ, my family.
My daughter.
She just started
with the San Francisco Opera.
Chorus.
Took a lot of money.
I once tried to pull out.
Christ, they were all over me.
So you...
just go along.
Unless you're willing
to go back to uniform duty.
Shit.
How the money rolls in.
- Here. Let me give you yours now.
- I'm not on.
- What do you mean, you're not on?
-Just what I said.
I'm not on.
I don't take money.
- Some gag. Here.
- No, I told you straight.
I don't take money,
and that's the truth.
- What were you doing with Rubello?
- Ask Rubello.
Your nut--
where's it been going?
Ask Rubello.
All right? then? sir.
l'll go to Delaney myself then.
- That would not be advisable.
- You don't understand, Captain.
- It's been weeks. Not a word.
- l understand perfectly.
No, but, Captain,
now they know I'm not on.
I've done all I can do.
Good-bye, Frank.
He's out.
Won't do another fucking thing.
Blair, I'm telling you, nothing's
gonna happen from the inside.
The top guys have been
cops too long.
You haven't heard from
Commissioner Delaney, have you?
No, not a fucking word.
Would you be willing to go
outside the department?
Where could we go?
Would you believe
the mayor's offiice?
- The mayor's offiice?
- His right-hand man--
guy named Jerry Berman,
from Princeton.
You knew I knew somebody.
That's the somebody I know.
And he cares, Frank.
He really cares.
- You know what we're doing?
- Yeah.
-We're going outside the department.
-That's right.
Dynamite.
Every plainclothesman
in the division...
and one,
maybe two lieutenants?
That is dynamite.
That is incredible.
That is --
That is $ a year...
but that is just one precinct.
Oh, that is amazing!
See, what I feel is needed here
is, like, a real investigation.
And I am sure that the mayor
will see this immediately.
McClain and Delaney--
they have done nothing?
Oh, man.
That is amazing.
Another thing.
See, in a couple of days...
they're gonna have
a meeting of the pad.
Oh, right.
- Frank is in a very tough spot.
- I can see that.
Rumors. See, I have heard rumors,
but never touching it directly.
And for an on-the-line cop to come
forward like this is beautiful.
Really, Frank, I mean...
you have my respect
and my sympathy...
for what you've been
going through, man.
Wow.
Hello.
This is Jerry Berman.
Is he there?
All right. I'll hold on.
Well?
Tell me what happened,
Paco.
I'd like a drink.
That guy is gonna
go to the mayor.
To the mayor!
Come here, Alfiie. We're all
gonna go to the mayor together.
You know that?
I couldn't be
any more embarrassed.
It's like a personal defeat.
However...
there are priorities.
What are the priorities,
Jerry?
The priorities are...
a long, hot summer ahead...
and riots are expected...
and the mayor cannot
alienate the police force.
Now, in the fall--
Now, in the fall,
it may be possible...
to take another look
at the situation.
All right, fiine.
I'm sorry.
They're all rotten.
Chickenshit.
The whole fucking
system's corrupt.
- Who's there?
- It's me. I gotta talk to ya.
You know, Frank, you're behaving
like a goddamn child. You hear?
Let him in.
You let him in.
I'm sorry, Frank. I'm sorry
I got you into the whole thing.
Bullshit! I got me
into this whole thing.
''Wow. Amazing!
''Dynamite!
Beautiful! Dynamite!
Priorities. Priorities.''
You and your big-deal friends,
your contacts...
your big bullshit names.
Bob Blair, the big operator
from Princeton.
The mystery man with the connections,
the hot line to the mayor.
Who the fuck do you think you are,
you son of a bitch?
You come looking for help,
whining, mealy-mouthed...
with your humble-pie act--
the saint, the injured innocent.
Who told you the department
or the whole world...
was some kind
of a fucking boy scout camp?
What do you expect, for Christ's
sake, a magician? A big daddy?
White knight snaps his fiingers,
the dirty world turns white...
Just keep talking.
That's what you can do.
while the Pope's choir sings
''Ave Maria,'' is that it?
You gonna blame me 'cause those
bastards don't wanna get involved?
I tried to help you.
I got my head handed to me.
Where's your head? It's on
your shoulders. That's what I see.
- You don't look so hot yourself.
- What's all this shit over here?
Get ready to blow up again,
'cause I got another idea.
You and your ideas
are as full of shit as you are.
- Right on cue.
- Right on cue.
We can talk to Foreman,
the commissioner of investigations.
Another guy!
We got another guy here.
We could even talk to a guy
I know on the New York Times.
Oh, that's terrifiic.
Go to the Times.
Every time I talk to you, Blair,
more people know about it.
This is safe, Frank.
It's safe? With my ass on the line,
it's safe, right?
- Your ass is already on the line!
- That's my business!
- You don't trust me, Frank?
- I don't trust you!
- Go fuck yourself!
- Fuck you!
Look, when I come home,
I want a house clean.
- Don't take it out on me, Paco.
- I don't want to pick up shit!
Honey...
come to bed.
All right. Look, we all know
what this is about, right?
Frank, what the hell was happening
between you and Don Rubello?
Simple. I didn't take any money.
I don't take money.
Rubello said if I changed my mind,
he'd hold my share--
he'd give it back to me.
- I didn't change my mind.
- The conniving bastard.
- All right. I'll handle Rubello.
- Donny was stealing.
I'll get back the money he took.
But this ain't gonna happen again.
From now on, no more three bagmen.
Starting today, every one of you...
makes his own collections--
no stops, no bread, okay?
- Right.
- You got it.
What about you, Frankie?
I'll make up what Don took from you.
- Why should I start now?
- Everybody'd feel better about you.
You can always give it
to charity.
Look, Frankie, what do you say,
a hundred a month just for expenses?
For my secretary and my
business lunches, entertainment?
All right. All right.
We split Frank's share from now on.
You're a schmuck, Frank.
If they would take
all that energy, see...
put it into
straight police work...
we'd have the city
cleaned up in a week.
They'd clean up.
There'd be no crime.
If I could work alone--
That's the thing, see?
If I could just get-- Work alone.
But they don't like that.
They don't want that.
They want to suck you in.
You go over
the same thing, Paco.
So fucking corrupt. Everybody,
everyone. Nobody giving a shit!
There's gotta be a way
to wipe it out, goddamn it.
Let's get out of here for a while,
huh, honey? Let's go to a movie.
Quit handling me! What are you
doing? How am I gonna go to a movie?
They'd kill me if they knew!
You think that hasn't happened?
Either you're exploding, or you're
lying around like a catatonic!
- I can't stand it, Paco.
- You don't give a shit, right?
All I care about is you!
That's all that matters to me.
That's why it hurts so much.
I can't stand to see you like this--
Scared, miserable,
dreading to go to work.
It's tearing me apart!
And then I get sick of hearing
about it, and I start hating myself.
You didn't like my being a cop,
so don't give me that shit.
I love you! I want to marry you!
I want to have children with you!
- Goddamn it! I hate it!
- Why don't you get out?
- Why don't you?
- It's crossed my mind.
Well, do it.
- What do you got?
- Would you bust whitey?
Try me. Try me.
This guy's heavy.
He's Italian.
Mobbed up.
Still interested?
Stop fuckin' around.
I'm not in the mood. Come on.
He's a loan shark,
runs a big numbers operation.
This mother's so cocksure...
he picks up his own slips
while he's collecting his loans.
Where's the drop?
Hold it!
I'm a police offiicer.
And--
Wait a minute.
You're under arrest.
- I thought you were a junkie.
- I'll take that wad in your pocket.
- You're a riot, kid.
- I know. I'm a joke.
What are you doin'?
What's that?
Put that away, or you're in more
trouble. Give me your car keys.
Where they been
hiding you, kid?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Hold this guy for booking.
Get a rap sheet on him.
I'm gonna search his car.
Where's Corsaro?
Smith took him upstairs.
I swear to God, I thought this guy
was some fucking junkie.
Listen, Rudy, you should
see some of the--
- Hey, you.
- Hey, who?
You. Get over here
and empty your pockets.
- I don't do that.
- You're my prisoner. Do what I say.
- Get over here.
- He's gonna get nasty about it.
You're fucking right!
Hey, Frank, cool it, huh?
Lean, motherfuck!
Spread!
Frank. Hey, Frank, Rudy's on.
He's good people.
Stay the fuck outta this!
You fuck!
What's this?
What's this?
Get in! Get in!
Serpico.
Got that record check on Corsaro.
You want to read something?
It's about your pal Corsaro.
Here, read it.
Read it!
He did years.
You know what for?
For killing a cop.
He's a fucking cop killer.
- It's good to see you again.
- I've had it. I'm fiinished.
- What's wrong?
- I can't take it. I gotta get out.
If I have to go back to uniform,
I'm going back to uniform.
I can't wait for Delaney to call.
I can't play their game anymore.
The commissioner didn't
get in touch with you?
Not a word. No investigation,
no undercover work, nothing!
- I had no idea, Frank.
- It's only fair to tell you.
I've been to outside agencies.
I'll go to more if I have to.
What outside agencies?
Holy Mother of God! Frank, we wash
our own laundry around here!
-You could be brought up on charges!
-We do not wash our own laundry!
- It just gets dirtier!
- You are in trouble!
I don't care if I'm in trouble.
I don't care who gets it.
- If I have to go to outside agencies--
- Stay away from outside agencies!
- Where am I gonna go?
- You hear me?
- Where am I gonna go?
- Wait until you hear from me.
- I've been waiting for / years.
- I'll get back to you.
That's not enough!
Where am I gonna go?
It's my life, you fuck!
Serpico, see Inspector Palmer.
For this precinct,
cases reported--
Murder-- for August,
for September, --
Inspector Palmer?
Deputy Chief Inspector Daley
and Inspector Gilbert...
are waiting to see you.
You want to come
to my offiice?
Captain McClain called me.
I briefed Inspector Daley
and Inspector Gilbert...
on your allegations.
The question is, in all these
months, why didn't you come to us?
Well...
I never met these gentlemen
before, sir, and...
you told--
I mean,
you told Captain McClain...
that the division was as clean
as a hound's tooth.
You think you're the only honest cop
on the force, Serpico?
My record's clear.
Inspector Gilbert's just
come from the commissioner's...
confiidential
investigation unit.
Then you must have
heard something. I mean--
I don't understand.
Commissioner Delaney has known
about this from the beginning.
No, I didn't hear a thing.
But I understand
your frustration, Frank...
believe me.
I mean, it's sort of like
trying to punch your way...
out of a paper bag,
right?
What outside agencies
have you been to, Frank?
I don't see how that's pertinent
to my allegations.
We ought to ask Serpico directly
if he's gonna cooperate or not.
- Come on.
- We've gotta know...
if there's any real basis
for an investigation.
Well, I--
I'll have to think that--
I'm gonna have to think
about that.
What is there
to think about?
I don't see how the division
can investigate itself, sir.
You've got a point there.
But you would cooperate with
an impartial investigation, right?
Yeah. Up to a point.
As long as I'm not involved.
I just want to go someplace
where I can do my job.
That's fair enough.
We'll be in touch.
Inspector Palmer?
May I see you a minute?
Was it necessary to let everyone
in the station house...
know I was comin' in here
to see these guys?
You believe from what you now know
that a full-scale investigation...
is warranted?
- Yes, Commissioner Delaney.
- Go to it.
But, sir...
shouldn't headquarters
handle something like this?
No.
You're all experienced men.
Chief Gallagher here will be
available for consultation.
Commissioner...
Serpico claims that...
McClain talked to you about
this whole thing some time ago.
Yes. I seem to remember
something about that.
We can't set up a surveillance on
''somewhere over by Crotona Park.''
We need a location!
I've given you locations
that are paying off.
Now, what do you want? The whole
thing signed, sealed, delivered?
You're conducting this
investigation, not me.
Lieutenant Smith--
Let's get back to him.
Lieutenant Smith.
Lieutenant Smith said to me...
if I didn't want the money that
he would stash it in his attic.
I'll have him transferred
in the morning.
Fuck him.
How about transferring me?
I hear you been
vouchering pad money...
over to a confiidential
investigation squad.
Oh, yeah? How can I voucher money
when I don't take any?
You won't fiind anything
on Serpico.
He's clean.
Right?
You practicing your frisk?
I'm looking to buy
a used tape recorder.
They're feeling me up every day.
How am I gonna wear a wire?
Come on, Frank.
Wearing a wire means testifying to
corroborate the tape, right? Right.
I'm not testifying.
I gotta put a dime
in the parking meter.
Ragland, put a dime
in the parking meter for Serpico.
Hey, Frank. Frank, you know
Herman Tauber, district attorney?
Yeah, I watch television.
Frank, I want to compliment you
for coming forward like this.
It's unique.
It's uniquely unique.
You should be proud of yourself.
There's gonna be a grand jury
on these shitheels...
with Frank Serpico
as my star witness.
Mr. Tauber, you and everybody
in this room can go to hell...
'cause I'm not testifying.
- Listen--
- Wait just a second, Frank.
You have nothing to fear.
You're not gonna be singled out.
I'm not afraid.
I don't give a fuck who knows...
- Wait a minute--
- if it meant something...
-but this investigation is bullshit.
-Mind if I say something?
Bullshit. You're not going after
corruption in the department...
the division, the Bronx.
A few flunky cops
thrown to the wolves...
to protect Delaney and those guys
who've known about this for years...
and won't do a fuckin' thing about
it, that's why I won't testify.
- Hey, what's this?
- Exactly what it says.
I'm splitting.
''Splitting.'' I never read
anything so stupid in my life.
''I'm leaving. If you want to
discuss it, I'll be at Felix's.''
I didn't feel like another
blood-and-guts scene.
I fiigured you wouldn't
be able to shout in here.
I can shout anywhere!
I won't shout.
Sit down, sit down.
It's just gonna go on
and on, Paco.
It isn't gonna
get any better.
And if you quit,
somehow I'll be blamed.
How could you leave
the man you love...
future father of your kids?
You never said anything
like that to me before.
And if I come back,
you won't say it again.
You want to be free
and unattached...
to go on fiighting for your cause
and keep torturing yourself.
My cause.
I felt so safe with you...
so loving.
Stay with me, Laurie.
- Come on. Stay with me.
- No, no.
- What do I owe you for that?
- Excuse me.
Here.
Here's $ . .
What are you doing?
Do you want to walk away,
or should I?
I'm not gonna walk away.
It's fiinished!
Who do you think you are, trying to
pull that ''no testifying'' bullshit on me?
Chief Green,
I know your reputation.
Look, maybe if you were borough
commander when this thing started...
run this investigation yourself,
I'd feel different about testifying.
But the truth is,
you're coming in after the fact.
You're like a quiff who says
she won't, then maybe she will.
I'm like a quiff
who's been fucked over...
for a year and a half by guys like
Kellogg, McClain, Delaney--
I'm not Kellogg,
McClain or Delaney!
Frank, it won't be
just flunky cops.
This is only the beginning.
This could be the biggest thing...
- since the Harry Gross case.
- And meanwhile, where am I?
I'm out there alone.
Who gives a fuck about that?
I'm totally isolated in the
department. I don't have a friend.
Don't give me that bullshit. I've
been puttin' cops away for years!
My name's an obscenity on every
precinct shithouse wall in the city.
- I've observed that, sir.
- Friends! I fought my way up...
as a Jew in the department in the
days you were supposed to have...
an uncircumcised shamrock
between your legs.
I have this nightmare
I'm on th Avenue...
watching the St. Patrick's Day
parade and I have a coronary...
and cops
march happily over my body.
Friends. I haven't got a friend
on the force, either, Serpico.
- I'll be your friend, Chief.
- I'm not lookin' for any.
- I'll make an exception for you.
- Frank, you're a good cop.
Stop being a prima donna.
Cut out the shticklech.
I don't understand.
How am I being a prima donna?
I want to protect myself.
We're gonna get the indictments.
You're gonna have to testify.
Ready on the right.
Ready on the left.
Ready on the firing line.
What are you gonna tell
the grand jury, Frankie?
Depends on
what they ask me.
Suppose they ask you
who's taking money?
What I don't know,
I don't know.
But you do know, Frank.
Look, Frankie, I like you. I don't
want to see anything happen to you.
But you gotta understand,
a lot of people could get hurt here.
I'm not saying anything's going to
happen. I'm saying it could happen.
I mean, there's lots of ways.
Nobody has to take a shot at you.
They can just not be there
when you need them.
Somebody come at you with a gun,
they look the other way.
Or they can send you
in fiirst enough times...
until fiinally one day you're gonna
walk in the wrong door.
- Thanks for the information.
- Fuck you, Frank!
I have nothing more. Does anyone
have any further questions?
- Yes, Mrs. Crist?
- If I may, Mr. Knowles, thank you.
Offiicer Serpico came
to the th Division...
more than a year
and a half ago.
All during that time, the things
he's told us were taking place.
Now, why didn't
Offiicer Serpico...
report these criminal activities
when he fiirst encountered them?
- I'd like to answer that.
- Mr. Chairman...
Mrs. Crist's question isn't material
or relevant to the present inquiry.
-Although I want to make it clear...
-I'd like to answer that.
Offiicer Serpico cannot be considered
derelict of his duty in any way...
or guilty of
any infraction of the law.
Quite the contrary.
The District Attorney is not prepared
to say any more at this time.
Very well. Offiicer Serpico,
thank you for your testimony.
This hearing is adjourned
until : tomorrow morning.
Why didn't you tell him
about Delaney and Kellogg?
Frank, this was a grand jury
about police offiicers...
actively engaged in corruption.
You don't implicate people
without suffiicient evidence.
That's crap and you know it, because
even a dumb cop like me knows...
a prosecutor can take a grand jury
anywhere it wants to take it.
Now, you never led me anywhere
near the real problems--
Nothing about the bosses,
the brass...
how corruption like this could exist
without anybody knowing about it.
Now, a few flunky cops
in the Bronx. That's it.
None of the shit in Queens,
Brooklyn, Manhattan?
While you're at it,
why don't you mention Kansas City?
Well, ''the biggest thing since
Harry Gross.'' That's what you said.
All right! Look, Frank.
You got guts, integrity.
There's going to be a detective's
gold shield in this for you.
Now, that's terrifiic.
That's good.
Maybe this is
what it's all about.
Maybe I should take my
gold shield and forget it.
I know you've been through
an ordeal, Frank.
I'm a marked man in this department.
For what?
- I've already arranged a transfer.
- To where? China?
That takes a -shot clip.
You expecting an army?
No, just a division.
Tauber, did you know I've had
reports about Serpico being a fag?
He used to hang out
in the BCI washroom.
That's stupid, Commissioner,
and you know it.
Mr. Commissioner, a gold shield
for Serpico at this time...
would convince
a lot of people--
Not while I'm commissioner.
Commander's offiice?
It's down that corridor.
Hey, Serpico. Do you know what
they're saying in the Bronx?
That you spilled your
guts to the grand jury.
Say it isn't so, Serpico.
It isn't so.
We know how to handle
guys like you.
I ought to cut
your tongue out.
Don't move.
Offiicer Serpico
reporting for duty, sir.
I'm Inspector Lombardo.
I want to shake your hand, Frank.
It's gonna be nice to have
a guy here I can trust.
Anybody in this command
you want to work with?
It's not who I want to work with.
It's who wants to work with me.
All right. You can't fiind anybody
you want to work with, Frank...
I'll work with you.
Is that all right?
How do we get past
the lookouts?
How many you got?
One.
There's two.
There's two.
- Yeah, there's a guy.
- There's three of them.
It's four buildings away. We could
try to get down the fiire escape.
Get in behind him.
What do you think?
- Look good to you?
- Yeah, let's go.
What do you think?
Want to try it?
- Oh, boy.
- You all right?
Yeah. I feel just
like a cop again.
- Let's go.
- Thank you.
Close up!
Wait, Frank!
Come on!
I ain't got nothing!
Beat it, fuck face!
Get the other one! Get out of here!
Get up against the wall.
What the hell's goin' on here?
Who the hell are you?
-Who are you?
-The police! Who the hell you think?
Get the fuck against the wall.
Up, up, up!
- Let me see your shield.
- All right. There's my shield.
- Where are you from?
- The borough. Manhattan th.
No, goddamn it! I just paid
the borough this morning!
What the hell kind of
shakedown is this?
Who'd you pay
in the borough?
Nobody.
I didn't pay no--
Who'd you pay
in the borough?
I didn't pay nobody.
Now let go of me.
We followed up,
and there's no doubt about it.
The pad here in Manhattan
is bigger...
and it's more sophisticated
than the one in the Bronx.
The pickups here are made--
You want to get this--
The pickups are made by...
retired policemen.
That way, no plainclothesmen
are directly involved.
Now, we need investigative help
on this one, Chief.
If you need investigative help
and you don't trust your own men...
why don't you requisition some
recruits from the police academy?
With all due respect,
sir...
backing us up is the only hope
the police department has got.
Good cops would come forward if they
thought there was encouragement...
in the department to do so, and if
they thought it would do any good.
If there's no encouragement,
they're not gonna do it.
I've done a lot more than most
people to defend and preserve...
the image of this department
and protect Commissioner Delaney...
against reckless and irresponsible
assaults from outside agencies.
That's it, huh?
I mean, that's what's
really important, isn't it?
That's what
you want to know--
what outside agencies
I've been to, right?
- Hello.
- Hello, prick.
- Who is this?
- Frank.
- How are you? Where are you?
- I'm ready to go to the Times.
It's a goddamn
serious step, Frank.
I don't know if
the timing is right.
Look, I want it to get on
the record, that's all...
in case something
should happen to me.
I want it on the record.
I don't know if we
carry enough weight.
I don't know if the New York Times
will go that far out on a limb...
on the say-so
of two flunky cops.
Suppose an inspector
were to come with us?
You know, I got years
on the force.
Just bought this place.
I signed a -year mortgage on it.
- Turn that thing off out there!
- Come on. Everybody to bed.
- Aw, Mom!
- Turn that damn thing down!
Come on, now.
Go on upstairs.
You said we could go
to bed late!
This is against department
regulations, you both know that.
If they want to throw the book
at me, they can do it.
If I left the force...
I don't know
what I could do.
Okay, I made my little speech.
I'll back you up a hundred percent.
Times and the News.
I got the money, fellas.
Here you go, here you go,
here you go.
Newsweek? please.
Holy sh--Jeez!
Aw, Christ!
You could almost predict
the numbers they're gonna do.
Delaney's gonna issue
some phony denial.
Somebody from the mayor's offiice
will say something noble.
Delaney'll change his tune. Finally,
the mayor will appoint a commission.
''Mayor Lindsay announced the
formation of a fiive-man committee...
to review the city procedures for
investigating police corruption.''
How come I'm not
in the fiirst paragraph?
Unbelievable!
The Times' report smells
of the familiar smear tactics...
of McCarthyism.
- l have issued a statement--
- We here at city hall--
The mayor appointed a special
investigation commission...
to be headed
by Whitman Knapp.
Yeah, come.
It's your reward. It's a transfer
to narcotics, Brooklyn South.
You're still in clothes. You get
a tin shield, not a gold one.
I miss you already, Frank.
Look, Frank...
it's narcotics.
You be careful.
It's very easy to get hurt...
and to--
to be set up.
Get in.
You're not wired,
are you?
Okay, you cocksucker.
You might get by in the Bronx
with that kind of shit...
but down here,
a month is chicken feed.
Last week,
one dope dealer...
sent out these guys
making pickups.
each.
We let 'em collect it all,
and then hit 'em.
split four ways.
That's serious money.
And with that,
you don't fuck around.
- I got the message.
- Good.
Now get the fuck out.
The guy's name is Limbo.
He just uses this place,
his girlfriend's brother's place.
He's a pusher-- heroin.
- We'll drive around to the corner.
- Right.
You keep in sight out front. When
you spot somebody who's dirty...
take off your glasses
and wipe 'em.
- Got it?
- Right. Okay.
We stay around here very long,
we're gonna get spotted.
Well, Frank, why don't you
go up there and check it out?
- Why don't you?
- I got the wrong clothes.
I'll take you shopping.
Limbo.
Police. Freeze!
Police offiicer.
All right, up against the wall.
Get your hands up against that wall.
Get up. All right.
- Palms on the wall and spread 'em.
- Get those hands up!
- Come on. Spread 'em!
- Get your feet apart.
- I saw the buy.
- Let's get Limbo.Julio!
- You all right, baby?
- Yeah, yeah. I got 'em.
Police offiicer!
What the fuck
are you waiting for?
Go down the fiire escape!
Police! Throw out your guns
and come out with your hands up!
- Wait. What do you got here?
- It's Mr. and Mrs. Serpico, sir.
Okay. Go ahead.
- Where's our son?
- They're bringing him from X-ray.
- We want to see him.
-Just a few minutes.
Mr. and Mrs. Serpico...
the news is better
than we expected.
Thank God the bullet
was a small caliber.
It didn't enter the brain...
or strike the spinal cord.
He's on the critical list...
but his condition
seems to be stable.
Thank you, Doctor.
Thank you.
Stay out of there.
Didn't they tell you?
What?
The word is, don't talk to him.
He's no fuckin' good.
- How you doing, kid?
- Hello, Sid .
How are you?
You wanna read my fan mail?
Sure.
You're a big shot now, huh?
I want you to get those
fucking cops away from my door.
The Knapp Commission likes you.
They want you to appear.
Naturally.
Heinemann and Julio
are cleared.
The three of you are up for
exceptional merit awards.
That's very funny.
That's very funny.
Francesco, you love me?
I always had a thing for you, Sid.
You know that.
Your gold shield's
come through.
What's this for?
For being an honest cop?
Or for being stupid enough
to get shot in the face?
You tell them
they can shove it.
I don't want it.
Oh, well.
Well, Frank,
the facts are these.
You'll have to stay on leave
of absence for a few months.
In all probability, the hearing
in your left ear won't come back.
Two bullet fragments are still
lodged there in the bony portion.
One is very close to
the carotid artery...
and you'll have to be checked
from time to time.
Your left side will
feel stiff occasionally.
Once in a great while you may
experience some dizziness.
But in general?
you'll be okay.
Through my appearance
here today...
I hope that police offiicers in
the future will not experience...
the same frustration and anxiety
that I was subjected to...
for the past fiive years
at the hands of my superiors...
because of my attempt
to report corruption.
I was made to feel that I had
burdened them with an unwanted task.
The problem is that the atmosphere
does not yet exist...
in which an honest police offiicer
can act...
without fear of ridicule
or reprisal from fellow offiicers.
Police corruption cannot exist
unless it is at least tolerated...
at higher levels
in the department.
Therefore, the most important result
that can come from these hearings...
is a conviction by police offiicers
that the department will change.
In order to ensure this...
an independent,
permanent investigative body...
dealing with police corruption,
like this commission, is essential.