Why I Finally Wrote This Book

 I stayed quiet for years. Not because I had nothing to say—but because I knew the cost. This is why I finally wrote the book. 

End promotion for Blue Betrayal book release

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

For years I didn't want to write this book. Not because I didn't have a story to tell you, but because I knew exactly what it would cost me to tell it. Because once the story's out, you don't control what happens next.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Blue Portrayal. From the 1950s through to the Fitzgerald Inquiry in 1987 and beyond, corrupt police and politicians managed a criminal empire. This podcast is a glimpse into how this empire evolved into a global organized crime network, spreading death and destruction by their trade in drugs and weapons.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Hi, I'm James Slade. And today's episode is different. Because this isn't just about what I saw or what I investigated. This is about why I finally decided to write it all down. I've told parts of this story over the years. Operations, intelligence, the things we were dealing with at the time. But never the full story. Not probably. Because the truth is, it wasn't just my story to tell. It was my family's as well. There's a cost of speaking out. Not the public cost, the private one. The fear that follows you home. The silence at the dinner table. The look in your kids' eyes when they know something's wrong, but don't understand why. Back then I believed I was doing my job. Following leads, building intelligence, trying to stay one step ahead. But the deeper I went, the clearer it became. The danger wasn't always outside the police station, it was inside it. That's a hard thing to accept when the people you trust are the very people you should be watching. There's always a moment when everything changes, when it stops being a job and becomes something else. For me, that moment didn't appear on duty, it happened at home. We found our dog Difa collapsed near the house, poisoned, froth and blood coming from her mouth, convulsing, biting at her own legs. Our kids watched her die. Try explaining that to a child, that their dog was killed because their father wouldn't stay silent. Two nights later, 2 a.m. in the morning, a crash outside. I grabbed my firearm and ran. Our car had been smashed to pieces. Bricks through the windows. A message. But the worst part didn't come from outside. It came from inside the job. Standing in the police station toilet, I heard them talking like it was nothing. Got any grass in the exhibit room? I'm after a prezi for that dog slayed. They were going to plant drugs in me. Not criminals, but police. Blokes I'd work with. And then they came from my family. A brick through my kid's bed in the window, landing on the bed beside him. That was the moment. The line I'd always believed in disappeared. I realized something that night. If it came down to it, I would kill to protect my family. That changes you, whether you want it to or not. It does. And that's the part I've never fully told. Not like this. Everything you've heard in this podcast is real, but it's only part of the story. The book goes further into the corruption, into the pressure, into what really happened, and what it cost to me and my family. If you followed this podcast, if you've walked this road with me, then this is where the full story is finally told. You can register now at blue betrayal.com. I'll see you there.