Dispute over a tree prompts former NYPD detective Frank Serpico to enter politics

Tree stump in field
(Image credit: iStock)

Frank Serpico, the former detective who revealed corruption in the NYPD in the 1970s and inspired Sidney Lumet's Serpico starring Al Pacino, is making headlines once again. Although he's now 79, Serpico is running for political office, The New York Times reports.

Admittedly, it's nothing big — just a spot on the five-person board of Stuyvesant, New York, where the total population is just over 2,000. Serpico, whose name is now synonymous with battling corrupt, high-powered officials, seems an unlikely participant in political bureaucracy. That is, until things got personal:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.