Thomas M Dibiagio

The Price of Fear Thomas M Dibiagio

The Governor turns to her Chief of Staff and remarks in frustration, "You never know what is going to happen when you take a nobody and shine a light on him." Rebecca Benjamin is expressing her regret in sponsoring Michael Deering to become the chief federal prosecutor. Benjamin is now concerned that Deering has become a threat to her political ambition. Soon after his appointment, Michael Deering finds himself entangled between the competing political ambitions of the Governor and Baltimore City's Mayor. Deering quickly becomes a convenient target for the escalating gun violence and an excuse for the failure of public officials to address Baltimore City's underlying poverty issues. The conflict only serves to harden the eroding level of trust and confidence in police and prosecutors by City residents. Michael Deering is constantly being told to lower his expectations and avoid clashes with his staff and the politicians. But he persists and believes that rigorous expectations will restore public trust in the criminal justice system. For Deering, this means, increasing the scrutiny on the many questionable business practices and self-serving relationships in the City. It all seems to come undone when the body of a young women is found in the Inner Harbor in apparent drug gang retaliation killing. The homicide investigation that follows, calls into question whether Deering will be able to overcome the constant path of indifference and injustice. In this crime and political thriller, by a former federal prosecutor Thomas M DiBiagio, we are provided a stunning account of the recurring conflict between politics and the criminal process. The Price of Fear revels the constant individual calculations and compromises that explains the lack of any "tipping point" and captures how a City becomes undone.