Great Philly Cops
A Detective's Memoir
Above: Courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Print and Picture Collection
Philadelphia’s Finest.
Philadelphia Police College Graduating Class - January 15th 1943. Courtesy of Stan Levy, Standard Photo Service Co.
This is not another story about big city crime in New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles. This is an account of the “old school” cops battling crime in Philadelphia, complete with it’s rich social history and it’s colorful cast of characters on both sides of the law.
This memoir gives the reader an insight into how those detectives did what they did, tracking their prey through footwork, the use of informants, hanging out at bars and nightclubs, and using sometimes tough and persistent interrogations combined with deductive reasoning. Lab technicians and crime scene investigators were ancillary, not, as in contemporary television portrayals, central to that process.
Philadelphia was big.
It was then the third largest metropolis of the United States.
Philadelphia Police Officer, Ed Moffit
A cop is a guardian of life and liberty. For Detective Ed Moffit (Badge No. 777), it was the greatest job in the world. In the fast-paced world in which he lived and worked, Philadelphia in the 1950’s and 60s, he had the honor of working with some of the finest cops in America. These men dealt with the murder and mayhem in the inner city and tackled the most prolific burglary rings on the Eastern Seaboard. They worked with colorful commanders, like Captain Clarence Ferguson and Inspector Frank Rizzo, then the most famous cop in America. Rizzo would achieve international notoriety and would emerge as an icon of the 1960’s.
These stories take place in a world that no longer exists- except in the memories of the millions of people who once lived and worked in the old industrial and waterfront neighborhoods, the tight-nit Irish, Italian, Polish and Jewish communities that comprised Philadelphia. These old neighborhoods were graced with magnificent parish churches, as well as dark and dingy bars, where some of the most formidable figures in Philadelphia’s underworld shared a few drinks and cut a few deals.
Battling Political Corruption.
It was pervasive in the city of Philadelphia.
Politicians were enjoying cozy relationships with organized crime figures, primarily those engaged in illegal gambling. The United States Senate empaneled a special Committee to investigate organized crime in interstate commerce, headed up by Senator Estes Kefauver, the Tennessee Democrat. The nationally televised Kefauver hearings turn out to be a gripping drama, and gave ordinary Americans their first look at shadowy organized crime figures being relentlessly questioned by United States Senators in their unfamiliar role as crime fighters. While some of the most celebrated TV footage was focused on hearings related to activities in New York and Chicago, in October of 1950 the Kefauver panel focused on Philadelphia. The Senate’s probe shined a spotlight on the mob operations that compromised Philadelphia’s police officials and corrupt politicians. The Senate probe also contributed to a Philadelphia political revolution that resulted in a massive reorganization of the Police Force under the leadership of the new Commissioner Thomas J. Gibbons, and opened the way for the promotion of a new generation of police officers, including a young Frank Rizzo and a young Detective Edward Moffit.
Senator Estes Kefauver - October of 1950
Courtesy, the United States Senate Historical Office.
Young Frank Rizzo
Courtesy of Charles Esposito, President of the Retired Police, Fire and Prison Guard Association of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The News Shield. This photo of the young Frank Rizzo ( in 1946) was the work of Sam Psoras of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Philadelphia’s New Police Commissioner and His Team of Detectives
Courtesy of Charles Esposito, President of the Retired Police, Fire and Prison Guard Association of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The photo originally appeared in The News Shield, (Winter), 1994.
After taking control of the Philadelphia Police Department, Thomas J. Gibbons ( Center), the new Commissioner, undertakes the task of modernizing the Force, seeking out, appointing and promoting a new team of Philadelphia police officers. Here, Gibbons is flanked by two of the City’s prominent Detectives. On the Left is Captain Clarence Ferguson, the chief of the Special Investigations Squad( SIS). A colorful public figure, Ferguson would become known as the “ J. Edgar Hoover of Philadelphia”. Ferguson was the lead investigator in the still unsolved “ Pottsville Heist” case of 1959, a headline grabbing tale of big money, intrigue and murder. On Gibbons’ right is Detective Nate Brantley, a prominent Black detective and an early mentor of young Ed Moffit on the job. Brantley’s key lesson: “Know the Territory”. A good detective will cultivate a wide range of contacts in the City’s neighborhoods: who the bad guys are, their friends and enemies and associates, their bars and clubs and hang-outs, the local “big wigs” who hire them, work with them, and protect them. A good cop should be able to tap into a strong and well developed network of friends and informants, providing critical information and solid intelligence.
The Northeast Detectives.
Philadelphia Police - Northeast Detective Division 1957. From Left to Right: Jerry Fisher, Jack Gallagher, Frank White, Joe Furey, Jack Connors, Ed Moffit, Sergent Harry Pelts, Ed Bongard, Unknown, John Reldy, Unknown, Captain Bill Stockman, Tom Lynch
Drawn with stark, jagged edges, Detective Moffit describes the colorful cops and resourceful detectives, the precinct commanders and their troops who were operating out of the Northeast Philadelphia Headquarters. Here is a vivid account of armed robberies; burglaries committed by masters of that craft; a tense confrontation with a homicidal maniac; the pursuit of a ruthless robber in a high speed chase; a particularly brutal case of the abduction, assault and sexual slavery of young women taken from a mental institution; encounters with organized crime figures (including La Cosa Nostra); investigations into the operations of clever con artists and undercover work to penetrate a dangerous ring of diamond smugglers.
The Northeast Detectives also focused on the infamous Kensington and Allegheny Gang, the K&A Gang, a loosely knit band of burglars who came from the neighborhood, conspired in its bars and taverns, and used Kensington as their home base. Detective Moffit recounts his role in the investigation of the K&A gang’s “Pottsville Heist” of 1959; the greatest residential heist in American history.
Three Irishmen.
Detective Jimmy Johnson, Jack Dempsey and Detective Ed Moffit. Johnson and Moffit on a trip to New York City conferred with colleagues of the New York Police Department. They took a break to meet the great Jack Dempsey, the former Heavyweight Champion of the World and an American Sports Legend.
What People Are Saying
“Great Philly Cops: A Detective’s Memoir is as aptly named as any book ever was. These recollections of Detective Edward Moffit (completed by his son, Dr. Robert Moffit) are a fine grained tour of urban America in the middle of the last century. The gripping stories related here are populated by what seems like a regiment of characters sent out by Central Casting: courageous, gritty ( usually Irish) cops, dangerous criminals, big-city politicians, judges and journalists. But the stories are just the half of what makes the book great. For the author is a gifted writer, possessed of a novelist’s eye for detail and character. It is as if Damon Runyon spent 25 years on the Philadelphia Police Force- and lived to tell all!”
— Gerard V. Bradley, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame, and former Assistant District Attorney in New York City
“Detective Ed Moffit is a master storyteller, and his riveting memoir takes you right into Philadelphia’s police precincts in the 1950’s and 60’s. While that time and place - its colorful characters, gangsters and mob bosses- seems like a world away, the basic plot is perennial. It’s a Big City story of the endless battle between good and evil, the good guys and the bad guys. Courageous, honest and dedicated, the men in blue recounted here are mostly quiet middle class family men with wives and kids. They are not only good guys, but they are also great cops.”
— Alfred S. Regnery, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
“Ed Moffit kept his priorities right. He was an honest guy, good and decent. He was a good detective, and a lot of fun to work with.“
— Detective Jimmy Johnson, Philadelphia Police Department, ( 1952 -1967)
“Detective Ed Moffit’s accounts are historically accurate, very entertaining, and they brought back a lot of great memories.”