The Cop Who Would Be King : The Honorable Frank Rizzo

by Joseph R. Daughen, Peter Binzen

Once in a generation a unique character comes on the political scene. And all hell breaks loose. This book tells the story of that character. Philadelphia cops call him “The General.” His campaign promise to his “I’m gonna make Attila the Hun look like a faggot after this election’s over.” He’s the only big-city mayor in America to publicly take a lie detector test to prove his innocence of a controversial charge – and flunk it. He’s Frank Rizzo, profane, brawling mayor of Philadelphia and now the subject of the boldest, most irreverent profile of an urban power broker since Mike Royko’s Boss. The Cop Who Would Be King charts Rizzo’s incredible rise from the tough streets of South Philadelphia through his wild, raiding days as the “Cisco Kid” of the police department, from his hard-lining and headlining as police commissioner during the explosive late 1960’s through his sweep into City Hall in 1971, “The Year of the Cop.” At the same time, the authors mount an incisive, often shocking investigation of Rizzo’s why voters have entrusted it to him, how he wields it, how he keeps it despite the damning revelations that continually surface. Daughen and Binzen, two first-rate veteran reports, have covered Philadelphia and Frank Rizzo’s career for years. As a result of their legwork and skill, The Cop Who Would Be Kind has a presence and excitement that sets it apart from every other book of its kind.

Genres: History, Local History

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Andrew Figueiredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading "The Cop Who Would Be King" as a Philadelphian makes you realize that Rizzo's influence casts a shadow on this city far beyond the statue and mural. The names that come up are familiar-- the sons and daughters of Rizzo's acolytes are still active politically. The lawyer Rizzo hired during his recall attempt? Part of my law school is named after the guy. The lasting racial tension in places like South Philly and Bridesburg? Certainly exacerbated by Rizzo's appeals.

I found this similar to Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago in being a biography/expose of a crooked mayor. Both took tough looks at corrupt administrations in major modern American cities. This is why local politics matter, and suggests how some populists can seem like teflon despite screwing everything up. One of the more surprising things to me is how effectively Rizzo formed his own machine to countervail the traditional Democratic one. It was a true cult of personality.

"What may be most notable about Rizzo is his resilience. Despite the taxes, the patronage, the buffoonery, the goon tactics, the lie detector test, and the penchant for mansions, he continued to retain the support of almost half the voters. After such a calamitous reign ... almost any other politician would be finished" (330). Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

"Physically and psychologically, he put a distance between himself and his "people" in the row houses. But when it became necessary, he could tap the row-house emotions, aligning himself with the crime-fearing blue-collar family" (327) Hmm...

"It was a tactic he would use again and again. Ignore the criticism. Attack the critics and their friends. Turn it into an us-against-them situation" (133) Yeah this is uncanny.

And yet Rizzo, unencumbered by the checks and balances of the federal system, was even worse than one can imagine. From the siege of the Inquirer to the siccing of goons on ward meetings to the insane budget shenanigans used before the 1975 election to the failure of a lie detector test days after he proclaimed the test as perfect, Rizzo literally governed like a dictator. I'm usually loath to make those comparisons, but Rizzo merits them. He was predisposed to violence, could erratically turn from your worst enemy into an endorser, and pursued all sorts of attacks on opponents. Hell, after this book was published, in the 1980s, he threatened to beat up a reporter while on a walk.

Daughen portrays these insane happenings in an entertainingly powerful way. He examines Rizzo's whole career and supports the analysis with revealing interviews, including with ostensible Rizzo allies. One additional strength is the attention devoted to Rizzo's time as police commissioner; without it, I think his mayorship and style of rule would lack context.

That said, I don't know that Rizzo could have united Philadelphia like the author hints that he might have been able to. His whole ascendance to power makes it improbable. White resentment + racially-tinged patronage + big business support never could sit well with overtures to the Black community beyond token appointments. Could Rizzo have been less outwardly divisive? Absolutely, but then he might have risked losing ground with his base. Rizzo's brand was a Manichean dog-whistle populism, one that's growing in prominence today and that makes this worth a read.

[Scoats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed from Archive.com, through their ebook lending program. Their digitized copy was missing some pages and one entire section. But at 300+ pages, you can lose 50 and still have way more than you need to get know Frank Rizzo.

A lifelong Philadelphian, I was in grade school while Rizzo was mayor. So I lived through the Frank Rizzo era, but due to my age I wasn't very informed about it during the time. It was fascinating to read about the city during this era.

A must read for anyone interested in Philadelphia history. Everyone else will find it too much. The overkill of detail is for many understandable reasons (legal protection, the habit of newspaper writers, and more being more) but it gets dry and repetitive.

[Scoats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed from Archive.com, through their ebook lending program. Their digitized copy was missing some pages and one entire section. But at 300+ pages, you can lose 50 and still have way more than you need to get know Frank Rizzo.

A lifelong Philadelphian, I was in grade school while Rizzo was mayor. So I lived through the Frank Rizzo era, but due to my age I wasn't very informed about it during the time. It was fascinating to read about the city during this era.

A must read for anyone interested in Philadelphia history. Everyone else will find it too much. The overkill of detail is for many understandable reasons (legal protection, the habit of newspaper writers, and more being more) but it gets dry and repetitive.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

One-sided muckraking, but still entertaining.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors, both acclaimed journalists, use the word padrone (a patron, master, or boss) to describe Rizzo, and then proceed to show how accurate that word is on their subject.