Weekend Buff

The Set (2023)

The Set

I have a podcast episode going most of my waking hours. Mostly news, politics, and history. It’s a good way to learn and be entertained while still getting work done.

It’s not often that I listen to a crime or police podcast other than our own fantastic Ops Desk podcasts, which everyone should listen to. Most other true crime podcasts are too hypothetical or amateurish, ignoring facts that don’t fit a particular narrative or not presenting a topic in a fair way.

A podcast that I am currently listening to breaks that mold. “The Set” is a podcast in its first season. It consists of 10 episodes relating one crime story. It is well researched, in depth, and contains firsthand sources that tell a remarkable story that many have only heard rumors about.

The Set relates the tale of the NYPD’s 30^th Precinct scandal of the early 1990’s. This “Dirty 30” scandal rocked a NYPD already on the ropes from the Dowd case and the ongoing Mollen Commission.

The podcast gives an in depth look at the background of the precinct and the people involved in the corruption and its investigation. It tells in heartbreaking detail how good cops became perps and how corruption, when unchecked spread like a disease.

The cops in the 30^th Precinct were policing in a sea of drugs and cash. The 30 was ground zero for the cocaine trade on the east coast at the time. Drugs were sold wholesale there. Huge amounts of money, guns, and drugs were on the streets and behind locked doors.

And cops became addicted just like the crackheads. A few seemed ready to steal right away, but many became hooked slowly, influenced by bad cops and the frustrations of the criminal justice system and drug trade. Some became robbers, burglars, and drug dealers.

One of the most surprising aspects of the investigation was how the NYPD Internal Affairs Division either intentionally or incompetently failed to investigate a multitude of warnings and tips. Bumbling efforts to catch corrupt cops were halting and unsupported. The host paints a picture of a department looking to avoid a scandal instead of trying to catch criminals in uniform. IAD is accused of tipping off the corrupt cops, hoping they would stop their crimes to avoid getting caught.

As any cop knows, that tactic never works on perps. Greed is always present, and criminal misconduct must never be tolerated. It must be mercilessly stamped out.

Politics and misconduct fouled investigations, but as we know, several cops met severe consequences.

The host of the podcast is Zak Levitt, an award-winning documentarian and podcaster. He does a good job as an outsider in telling this sad story. It is not perfect, but no one truly knows what happened in the 30 except the cops that worked there.

The Set is 10 episodes, with each one running around 45 minutes. You will cringe at the developing tragedy, wondering how so many people could be blind to the consequences of their actions. You can catch the podcast for free on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and other streaming services. This weekend, take a look at the bad old days of New York City, just before Giuliani, Bratton, Kelly, and others turned the ship around and made vast improvements to the NYPD.

Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!