If you happen to spot a car with the license plate “Vito PI” while driving down a Las Vegas street, PI is not Vito’s last name. It’s what he does for a living. Vito Colucci, Jr. a high-profile private investigator, has recently relocated to our area, and you might recognize the name because he has been a guest commentator relative to many crime cases on TV shows like 48 Hours. Most recently he appeared on several national and local media stations discussing the horrific elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.
Colucci’s new book Rogue Town, co-authored with true crime author Dennis N. Griffin, will be released by Houdini Publishing in January, 2013.The introduction by Anthony Dolan,Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and former speech writer for Ronald Reagan, is just a sample of the stories between the covers. Dolan’s investigative reporting of the crime machine in Stamford, Connecticut during the time Colucci was an undercover cop with the Stamford police department influenced the way crime is now investigated.
A sneak peak at the review copy was fascinating and this book is sure to be a hit. Not a hit in the sense of killing someone, but a “hit” as in runaway success. As for the other type of hit, well, that was what happened during all of the years he lived the dangerous double life of an undercover police officer. When we watch the hour-long cop shows on TV or take in a flick with non-stop action and lots of shooting, the average fan thinks that’s what it’s like, but the real life of an undercover cop isn’t like it is in the movies.
In Rogue Town, Colucci recounts not only the physical danger but shares what the psychological effects of knowing that even a small mistake might be your last really means. His first book, Inside the Private Eyes of a PI, covered his experiences as a private investigator and many famous cases (with immediately recognizable names) after his career with the police department.
But back in 1969 when he was only twenty-one years old, his choice was to become a cop because he wanted to get criminals off the streets and make a difference.
However, he quickly discovered the truth of what it meant to be a cop in Stamford was that crime was not limited to the crooks and murderers one could spot on the street. Stamford was teeming with corruption. Organized crime controlled illegal drugs and gambling. In Rogue Town, Colucci takes you back to those days and the years he worked undercover. The book could be fiction, but it isn’t. It’s the raw truth and that’s what makes it so compelling.
Watch for the release. Then buy the book. You’ll be glad you did.
Morgan St. James has published over 500 articles with Examiner.com relative to writing and books. In addition to her latest funny crime caper "Who's Got the Money?" (Finalist in the USA Best Books Awards) which is available at select Barnes & Noble locations and most online booksellers, she has garnered awards for many short stories, written several other books, and co-authors of the award winning Silver Sisters Mysteries series her real sister Phyllice Bradner.http://funnycrimecapers.blogspot.com and http://silversistersmysteries.wordpress.com
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