The Red Squad

New York. 1951. War in Korea. The NYPD. This is a work of fiction. With the exception of New York mayors O'Dwyer and Impellitteri, who were historical figures, all characters and events herein, some of which may have been suggested by actual cases, are a product of the author's imagination, and are not to be confused with real people or events then or now. However, The Bureau of Special Services and Investigation, known to some as BOSSI, and to others as The Red Squad, did exist during World War II and through much of the Cold War, as did similar Red Squads in other big cities. They worked largely in secret. Strict legality was not always observed. Suspects' rights were sometimes trampled, careers and lives destroyed. In New York BOSSI lasted until 1970 when, because of the sinister reputation it had by then acquired, its cases and most of its personnel were quietly folded into the newly created Intelligence Division where, for some time longer, under its new name, it operated much as it had in the past.