Posted: Monday, 14 September 2009 11:11AM
Billy And I Were Friends
Steve Corbett Reporting
Monday, September 14, 2009
All the good that retired cop Billy Maguire did as a Wilkes-Barre police officer will remain as part of his legacy of honor.
But since his decision to plead guilty to a federal crime, the 59-year-old will now be known more and forever as a crooked ex-cop, a corrupt public official and a thief who couldn’t be trusted.
Billy and I were friends for a long time.
I attended his mother’s wake, brought a gift to his son’s high school graduation party at his home and traveled in a huge RV to a Notre Dame game with him and a couple of other neighborhood guys with whom I laughed so hard my ribs ached.
Now my heart aches.
I’m angry, too, but the sense of disappointment feels worse than a beating. So is my uncertainty in not knowing who to trust anymore in the realm of public service. I trusted Maguire. In my experience, he was truly one of the good guys. People who needed help went to Maguire. I never had any reason to believe that he would commit a crime.
Now I know better.
Maguire was crooked at least once. I know this because he is admitting that he accepted a bribe as a member of the Luzerne County Housing Authority.
Facing up to 10 years in a federal prison, Maguire becomes one of those dark ex-cops you see in movies who disgrace the badge and wind up among the outlaws they spent their life putting away.
In a terribly sad irony, one of Maguire’s lawyers is one of the lawyers who represented killer Glen Wolsieffer, Maguire’s biggest ever arrest. After 13 years, Wolsieffer’s out of prison while Maguire prepares to go in. Maybe the killer dentist can give Maguire some tips on his to get by behind bars.
Maguire is now just another defendant, just another criminal, just another “skell,” as a New York City cop Maguire and I know always described the thugs that attack the law.
I’ll never know what possessed him to commit this crime. I’ll never know what drove him to the other side. And I’ll never know when the decision happened.
When I knew him best he was somebody I depended on to honestly pursue justice when others gave up. He was somebody I could count on to show up in the face of the worst danger to do what was right. He was a good, brave cop who smiled when he needed to smile and cried when he needed to cry.
I saw him do both.
I watched him cry one night as we sat drinking beer on the back porch of my apartment in Wilkes-Barre as he talked about the love and respect he had for his daughter. I watched him laugh as his son accompanied us to the Notre Dame game. I watched him take on a soft, gentle nature while in the company of his wife.
I also watched him in the company of other cops and prosecutors – including some super cops from big city departments out of state. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials trusted him. I know they trusted him because I was there.
But I haven’t called one of them since news of Maguire’s arrest broke Friday.
Because word on the street travelled on the street for weeks before his arrest, I called his cell phone number and left several messages. In my last message, I mentioned my late father, Shamus, one of the best detectives in the world.
My father liked Billy and Billy liked my dad. After the stroke that ended my father’s career as a hero cop, Billy drove with me to move my mother and father back to the Minooka section of Scranton where life began for Shamus.
I drove my mom.
Billy drove my dad, an honor that he later told me meant something very special to him.
It meant something special to Shamus as well.
In my last message to Billy I told him that I was very sorry for everything that had happened and that the only advice I could provide is the advice that I know my father would provide.
“Tell the truth, “I said. “Tell the truth.”
The truth will not erase the harm Billy Maguire did to the public trust, to his family or to himself. But the truth might help rid our community of the public corruption that controls the lives of countless law-abiding citizens that good cops sometimes give their lives to protect and serve.
Perhaps Maguire knows nothing beyond the scope of his own crime. But if he does, he should talk about it.
Tell the truth, Billy.
You used to be a good cop.
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Corbett
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