The case was United States v. Williams, and it was a piece of a much larger prosecution, United States v. Carter, et al. The 135-count indictment in United States v. Carter, et al., is almost as thick as this book, and names thirty-seven defendants, charging, inter alia, conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, use of a firearm during commission of drug crime, and employing children to distribute drugs near schools and playgrounds. For the next few weeks at trial, I had an eye-opening lesson in crime and justice in a major American city, which happens to be my hometown.
You may recall that the crack cocaine trade reached peak levels in cities in the late 1980s, when it got more media attention than any narcotic deserves. But now that the spotlight has departed, crack trafficking has become business as usual, and unfortunately for all of us, stabilized at very high levels in major American cities, becoming a fixture in the urban landscape and bringing with it a continuous supply of crime and violence, tearing apart neighborhoods and families. As part of its Pulse Check program, the Office of National Drug Control Policy monitors crack cocaine trafficking and its effects in twenty-five major American cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa/St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C. According to the most recent Pulse Check, of January 2004, crack abuse and trafficking are now infecting formerly “nice” neighborhoods in these cities and, inevitably, moving beyond the city into the suburbs. Also, crack is more frequently being traded for guns, stolen merchandise, drug-buying services, and sex than during the past ten years, though cash remains eternal. The effects on the quality of life, and of death, are profound, and they affect our country as a whole.
I wanted to deal with those themes in Devil’s Corner, and I picked the brains of many experts, most of them involved in some way with U.S. v. Williams, to give this story its verisimilitude. Of course, any and all mistakes or misinterpretations are mine. The prosecution in U.S. v. Williams was steered by the experienced, able, and remarkably kind Rich Lloret Esq., of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with his colleague AUSA Kathy Stark Esq., and super-dedicated agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, among them Special Agent Anthony Tropea, Special Agent Steve Bartholomew, and as luck would have it, Special Agent Mike Morrone, whose wife, Marcelle, is an old friend of mine. I should make the obvious clear before I go further: I admire these people, not only for their intelligence and skill, but for their dedication and service to the public. I don’t think we know enough about the amazing job they do, or the many sacrifices they make for all of us. But the characters in this book are not them, or “real” in any sense whatsoever, and this story isn’t based on U.S. v. Williams or U.S. v. Carter. No truly original novel duplicates court cases or is “ripped from” today’s headlines. Any fiction worth reading (or writing) comes from the imagination, and heart.
Having said that, this is me thanking every one of the people named above, who took the time to answer my endless questions, permitted me to watch them in action, and took me on office tours. Special thanks to Special Agent Mike Morrone, who lent encouragement, read a draft of the manuscript, and made corrections. Likewise, I am indebted to Nancy Beam Winter of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a brilliant and gorgeous prosecutor who read two early drafts of this novel; I owe you forever, girl, and admire you more than I can say.
Thanks, too, to my old friend Joan Markman Esq., of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who put me on to the right track at the outset. For background information about criminal defense lawyering, many thanks to Joe Mancano Esq., who was court-appointed in U.S. v. Williams and was equally generous with his time and expertise to help me, and to David Nenner Esq. And a special thanks to Judge Stewart Dalzell, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who is one of the smartest, fairest, and finest jurists ever to serve on our local, or any other, bench. His integrity, literacy, and humanity epitomize what a judge should be.
Thanks again to Glenn Gilman Esq., public defender extraordinaire, and Art Mee, retired detective extraordinaire.
And thanks to another special group. As is my custom, character names in this novel have been auctioned off to wonderful people who supported a number of worthwhile causes, and thanks are due to those generous people; first to the Durham family, who contributed to the Literacy Council of Miami Valley, Ohio, in honor of their beloved mother, Marilyn Durham. Marilyn was a book lover and a devoted reader of mine, but sadly, she passed away before she could see her name in print. I think of Marilyn and her daughters often, and this book is in her memory.
Thank you to Ben and Illy Strauss, for their generous contribution to Key to the Cure, which raises money for breast cancer research, to Susan Schwartz, for her contribution to the Free Library of Philadelphia, Gail Graves and Lynne Graves Stephenson (donated to Chester County Library), Maureen Thompson (donated to Montgomery County Community College), Debbie Hodill (donated to the Carrie Martin Fund), Janet and Harry Knowles of Meteorological Instruments, Inc. (donated to Goodwill Industries of South Jersey), and Karan Abdalla-Oliver (donated to Riddle Memorial Hospital). For various contributions, Lee Ann and David Donato, Phyllis Banks, the lovely Mama Jean Brightcliffe, and Barbara Pizer, for her many efforts to find a cure for breast cancer.
Thanks to the wonderful and hardworking booksellers like my local pals Joe Drabyak, Kelly Gartner, and Kathy Siciliano, to name only a few, who continue to support me and my books; I appreciate your friendship and loyalty so much, and am forever grateful. Joe always reads my early manuscripts, and I thank him so much for that. And to my readers, of course, this is a major hug. I think of you with every line.
Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers, my home for over twelve books now, and special thanks to the brilliant Jane Friedman, Brian Murray, Michael Morrison, Susan Weinberg, and Carrie Kania, for all of their support and very hard work. Thanks to Christine Boyd and Ana Maria Alessi, and to the wonderful, hardworking, and extremely gorgeous Marie Elena Martinez. Last but hardly least, a huge hug to my invaluable editor since page one, Carolyn Marino, a dear friend. And thanks to Jennifer Civiletto, who keeps both Carolyn and me on track.
Another huge hug to Molly Friedrich, Aaron Priest, and Paul Cirone, who have guided me for so many years. And to Laura Leonard, without whom nothing is possible.
And to my great kid, which is exactly when words fail.
About the Author
LISA SCOTTOLINE is a New York Times bestselling author of 10 novels and a former trial lawyer. She has won the highest prize in crime fiction, the Edgar Award, and has lectured at law schools and bar associations on issues of legal ethics. She is an honors graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and its law school, where she was an editor of the Law Review and won the Loughlin Prize for legal ethics. Her books are published in more than twenty languages, and she remains a life-long resident of the Philadelphia area.
ALSO BY LISA SCOTTOLINE
Killer Smile
Dead Ringer
Courting Trouble
The Vendetta Defense
Moment of Truth
Mistaken Identity
Rough Justice
Legal Tender
Running from the Law
Final Appeal
Everywhere That Mary Went
Lisa Scottoline, Devil's Corner
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