Frank Serpico

Frank Serpico is an American retired NYPD detective. He is best known for whistleblowing on police corruption in the late 1960s and early 1970s, an act that prompted Mayor John V. Lindsay to appoint the landmark Knapp Commission to investigate the department. Much of Serpico's fame came after the release of the 1973 film "Serpico", based on the book of the same name by Peter Maas and starring Al Pacino in the title role, for which Pacino received an Oscar nomination. He served in the United States Army and was stationed for two years in South Korea as an infantryman.