Finnigans Take

The noose is tightening on Jerry as fellow SOS members are talking to the Feds, causing paranoia and deceit in the ranks. Jerry is arrested by the FBI, which begins 10 years of incarceration, four of which are at Chicago's MCC in solitary confinement. Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry spends four years in solitary confinement at the MCC before he settles on a plea deal. He discusses his time in jail and how it shaped his new outlook on life. Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry readjusts to life outside of jail and addresses accusations of crimes leveled against him. He also discusses the notorious "Hunting Photo". We end with a Q & A about policing in a post-George Floyd world and the troubling issues facing Chicago.  Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry is flaming out in SOS and requests a transfer to Midway Airport. Once there, he quickly realizes crime and conflict have followed him. We detail odd events at Midway on 9/11 that nag at Jerry to this day.  Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry is awoken in the middle of the night by an emergency call. His younger brother, John, has died. Jerry races to the scene of the crime to discover that John used his girlfriend's service weapon to kill himself. As Jerry digs into John's death, he has doubts about his brother's suicide.  Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on...

An investigation into a car insurance scam by a reassigned cop who's now working for the FBI is the catalyst for the start of the end of Jerry and the rogue SOS team. Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry arrests a gang member who is politically connected to Alderman Ed Burke, a man at the top of Chicago's political power machine. In true Chicago fashion, politics and policing collide in a web of deceit and drama.  Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry is on duty when he gets a call about a bar fight, but he and his partners blow off the call. Jerry later discovers his eldest brother, Bill, was killed in a stabbing at the bar. No charges are brought against the man who killed Bill, so Jerry initiates his own investigation and is shocked by what he discovers. Music: "Refraction 3" from the album "Lux: Refractions” by loscil,...

Jerry details his methods for removing guns from the streets of Chicago. While his strategy was not always legal, the results were undeniable.  Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry's success as an aggressive cop pays off not only for him but for his bosses and top brass of the Chicago Police Department. With success come complaints, and the negative attention begins to pile up. This is a look inside the complaint system and how it trapped Jerry in a box he could not escape.  Music: "Refraction 3" from the album "Lux: Refractions” by loscil, courtesy...

Jerry joins Special Operations Section, an elite unit that would remove drugs and illegal guns from the streets of Chicago. This roving pack of cops was a freight train already coming off the rails when Jerry joins them, and his presence accelerates the unit’s ultimate demise.   Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Our first conversation details Jerry's youth and the influences that began his trajectory toward becoming a Chicago police officer.  Music: "Refraction 3" from the album "Lux: Refractions” by loscil, courtesy of Scott Morgan. Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry decides to take the entry exam and become a cop. His training officer is a seasoned veteran with more than 20 years on the job. Jerry instantly realizes how dangerous Chicago is. Music: "Refraction 3" from the album "Lux: Refractions” by loscil, courtesy of Scott Morgan. Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstei...

Jerry is assigned to the 7th District, an area of Chicago that is tantamount to a war zone.  Follow Neal on X at @nealedelstein and the podcast at @FinnigansTake.  Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein

Jerry joins the 7th district tactical team of the Chicago Police Department, where he quickly becomes seasoned in the ways of Chicago's "real police".  Music: "Refraction 3" from the album "Lux: Refractions” by loscil, courtesy of Scott Morgan. Send us Fan Mail The conversation continues on X  at @FinningansTake.  You can find Neal on X @NealEdelstein