All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire

by Jonathan Abrams

JAY LANDSMAN SR. (LT. DENNIS MELLO): I’m not as forgiving as David and Ed were. Both of them are dead now, Melvin and [Nathan “Bodie”] Barksdale. But I didn’t particularly care for them. I never liked Melvin, and I hated Barksdale. Barksdale’s a scumbag. The time that he spent in jail didn’t break the ice for what he should have spent in jail. Donnie’s a great guy. There’s a guy that truly made amends for his ways. But Barksdale has always been a scumbag. So was Melvin. I didn’t like that they used Dennis Wise. They made Dennis a kids’ coach. Dennis was the most vicious man I ever knew in my life. Cutty was Dennis Wise. He was known as “Two to the head and you’re dead.” He was a hit man in West Baltimore. He used to just walk up behind somebody, blow their head off.