Yes, Mike was a bit of a problem. A word about what a collaborator does. We write a memoir as it is told to us e.g. the individual themselves can't write a book (some of the people I've written about never even read a book). That said, when the manuscript is complete, the publisher unleashes their team of lawyers and is supposed to vet the entire book, line by line. In Undercover Cop, that was obviously not done.

And yes, one of the people mentioned in the book sued everyone associated with it for $50M because he was labeled as an associate to a NJ mob family. He vehemently denied this, saying he was friends with some of the characters in the book "back in the day," but was a "born again" Christian and wouldn't dream of doing anything illegal. A cursory investigation revealed that he was very much involved in things he shouldn't be involved in. This information was passed along to the publishers and they decided to write him a check for $25K to make him go away, reasoning that it would cost many more times that to send lawyers to court. I told them very strongly not to do that because every wiseguy in that book would see a payday and sue them. They did it anyway and opened up the floodgates for many lawsuits. I can't say I didn't warn them.

Glad you're enjoying Street Warrior. Ralph Friedman is a unique individual, and the NYPD will never see the likes of him again.