Twenty Years of Vaudeville and a Pension: What Really Happens Behind the Badge

Solita's book takes you on a journey through the sixties, seventies, and eighties describing the harsh realities of big city cops. This first time author spins the web of transformation from rookie to veteran. Trek from a background of Chicago's luxurious downtown to a poignant skid-row population, and end up in two of the worst ghettos in the country. Chicago's south and west side, gang-contaminated, communities are the main backdrop for the tragedies, fiascoes, hilarity and grandeur of one of the most successful units of the Chicago Police Department has ever created to combat crime: the Gang Crime Division. This novel probes and explains the political games played in Chicago, as well as many other large metropolitan areas, linking police departments to City Hall. Solita perceives them as one and the same. His book contains lively accounts and insights of behind-the-scenes police maneuvering in his attempt to expose the unrealistic expectations of police field and administrative work. Solita sidesteps the limitations of today's "political-correctness" in order to accurately reveal the reality of the era. He believes this phenomena slashes at our First Amendment rights and stifles political debate. His gritty honesty is bold and incisive as he attempts to educate the public through a hilariously shocking chain of events. A factual account of the life of a street investigator in Chicago, who pursues criminals and battles politics daily, may change the minds of many who have formed views of our criminal justice system. Solita's unique analogy of Vaudeville theatrics and police work is witty, clever, and sidesplitting. A must read for all criminal justice students and cop enthusiasts. You will find this book one that you cannot put down.