Murderer with a Badge

by Edward Humes

Profiles Los Angeles police officer William Leasure, a mild-mannered officer married to a prosecutor, who, unbeknownst to his wife or fellow cops, used his badge as a cover for a decade-long crime spree of burglary, adultery, and murder. Original.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Police, History

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Edward Humes is a Southern California author, journalist and writing teacher whose most recent nonfiction book is “The Forever Witness.” His next book, “Total Garbage: How to Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World,” will be published in time for Earth Day 2024. He shares his home office with a pair of rescued racing greyhounds, Valiant and Dottie.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

True murder

True murder

This book was to long and complicated to be an enjoyable read I don't think any other author could have done any better.

[Andee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was just nuts. It could only be a true story because no one could actually make this whole thing up, it's just too ridiculous!

Stolen yachts - thieves capering together on the high seas, murders for hire, stolen cars, offshore bank accounts, long term mistresses, etc.

The story was so convoluted, had so many people involved, and so many different types of schemes/crimes, that it is hard to keep it all straight. God only knows how Leasure himself managed to keep it straight. I can't figure out when the man ever actually slept beyond a cat nap, or didn't get himself caught in various lies to people over the years. He was able to compartmentalize every facet of his life to such a degree, it's unfathomable to any normal person. The author did a stellar job of presenting this entire story in a way that makes the most sense, which was no easy task. Even then, it's hard to keep up, but he managed to keep it flowing and to lay it out as well as possible.

[Jane Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

True Crime Story

The is so very good book for the true crime fan. It is an excellent story and the author follows it to the end. It is very well written and he does it justice. I recom end it to all true crime lovers.

[Pat Olivier · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disorganized

This is an interesting story but I really dislike the way it is told. It is laid out going back and forth, back and forth in time. It would be better in chronological order.

[SpareTheBS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story could have been told with 200 less pages. There were a lot of people and crimes to explain but there was way to much filler that just made things confusing and tedious.

[Effie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mild Bill kills?

Interesting read,not your usual story. Lots of different twists and turns, all captivating in their disclosure. Could say mild Bill goes wild.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book was wildly entertaining. The book gets a little to much into the weeds during the investigation and trial.

Overall, a good book.

[Christine M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grabs you from the jumó!

I loved this book and I’m really enjoying this author! This is the second book of his I’ve read this week and I’m headed to search for others!

[Caitlin Rother · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed and well written book about a corrupt cop working for the LAPD.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me just say, that 𝙈𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙜𝙚 was a book that was hard for me to put down. Me personally, ever since I moved to Los Angeles I've been fascinated with stories about the Los Angeles Police Department, whether they're old or current stories or good or bad stories. This book obviously chronicled a bad story about the LAPD, an officer within their ranks who was committing some serious criminal offenses behind closed doors and far from the Central Division precinct where he patrolled.

Author Edward Humes is a brilliant writer. This guy wanted to study, process, and analyze every nook and cranny of the Bill Leasure criminal case within the 473 pages (plus epilogue) of the book. Humes really wanted you to understand how diabolical and sneaky Leasure and his fellow co-conspirators were (there were many of them). Leasure conspired with another guy to steal a yacht (and they got it) and he helped put out a contract to kill two Los Angeles area men he didn't even know. And those killings weren't even all the crimes he was a part of or privy to.

One of the better things about this book was that Humes actually gave you a detailed look at who Leasure was before he joined the LAPD and before he did all those crimes he did while he was employed with the LAPD. Sometimes when writers write books on criminals, they don't give you the backstory you need as a reader as to form your opinion on why these men or women turned to the other side of the law. There were parts of this book where he was actually sympathetic to Leasure, but as the book went on, he sure condemned and/or put the screws to Leasure.

Humes also did a good job on reporting on Leasure's criminal co-conspirators which included a greedy and evil female that wasn't any good for no man (Paulette de los Reyes), and I have to say that I loved Humes' contempt for Dennis France (a real slimy character and you'll see that when you read the book), a racist and stone-cold gun nut and killer, and others. Leasure made sure you knew how evil these people Leasure ran with were, and all of them turned on Leasure or didn't help him in his case when he needed them. Typical.

I think the best sentence in this book was this and this sentence summed up Bill Leasure to a tee, "His entire life was a lie, a cover for a bitter, small man who had no honor, no empathy and no goal other than to prove he was better than anyone else," (Humes, page 37). Humes throughout this book let Leasure have it and he was right to do so.

In conclusion, 𝙈𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙜𝙚 gave you the backstory on the lead antagonist Bill Leasure, the secondary but vital antagonists to the engine of the book, and most importantly the book chronicled a criminal case that gave the LAPD another black eye in what was already a turbulent time (the late 1980s to early 1990s period) for the law enforcement agency.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Bill Leasure, a mild mannered LAPD cop who was arrested for stealing yachets and murdering people. It is a completely true story, although it is more of the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction type story.

The book is good but long. Humes has done his research and the book reads more in narrative form. I found it an interesting read but I'm not necessarily gushing about it.

[Sam B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very intriguing story, but the author reeaallly squeezed every last drop out of this. I would've cut the book by 50-75 pages, which would've greatly improved the pacing. Still a worthwhile read. I think it'd be incredibly fascinating to sit down with Leasure and get to talk to him, try and peek into that twisted mind.

[Chamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good,just really long.

[Angela Randall]

My interest was inspired by this great Cracked article on secret identities.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting portrait of rogue LAPD patrolman William Leasure. Includes Leasure's own comments and insights during the trial (taken from phone interviews with the author).

[Justin Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A remarkable piece of journalism, though dry in places.