'Gangster Squad' author to speak at Westchester event

Friday January 11, 2013 11:00 AM By Kirthana Ramisetti

Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures | Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in "Gangster Squad."

"Gangster Squad,” an action thriller starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, is based on the work of a local writer. Paul Lieberman, an award-winning journalist who resides in Westchester, wrote a seven-part 2008 Los Angeles Times series called “Tales from the Gangster Squad.” The articles were optioned by Warner Bros., leading not only to the film adaptation, in theaters today, but also to a book released by Lieberman last summer, “Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles.”

The film is based on a real-life group of LAPD cops known as a “gangster squad,” a secret group of police officers working to combat notorious East Coast crime lord Mickey Cohen in the years following World War II. Oscar winner Penn plays Cohen in the movie, and Gosling and Josh Brolin are members of the elite unit of cops intent on taking the mobster down.

According to the book publisher’s website, “Lieberman spent well over a decade tracking down surviving members of the real police unit and conducted more than 300 interviews in all to write the book version of ‘Gangster Squad.’”

Lieberman’s participation in the film extends beyond providing the source material; he also serves as one of the film’s executive producers. The author will provide insight into writing the book and the making of the film at a Greenburgh Public Library event called “'Gangster Squad': From Street Reality to Book to Film." The event takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and is open to the public. Find more information by calling 914-721-8225 or by visiting www.greenburghlibrary.org. Greenburgh Public Library is located at 300 Tarrytown Rd. in Elmsford.

Tags: Elmsford , Westchester , Greenburgh , Paul Lieberman , movies , events