Ghost of Christmas Past

This case was inspired by the work of three brave, diligent and dedicated detectives. Detectives Thomas Gallagher, Lewis Robeson, and Sergeant Ron Heffernan were working the Robbery division in the South Bronx in 1983 when a drug-addicted felon traded some info on a cold-case murder for a reduced sentence.

Little did they know that they'd be spending their spare time over the next eighteen months tracking down all the details of the case -- starting with who was the victim, and finishing with a way to prove the case to the jury. They worked Robbery, not Homicide, but after learning of the senseless, racist actions of the killer, and the brilliant, outstanding, promising African-American man who was killed on Christmas Eve, they wouldn't rest until justice was done.

This is also the story of how the rise of drugs -- the sale, the pursuit, the use and the pains of addiction -- changed neighborhoods, pulling apart the bonds of community, the trust in family and neighbors and causing spikes in crime.

At the heart of the story, though, is the dogged persistence -- almost obsession -- of Gallagher, Robeson, and Heffernan. They attacked the case from multiple angles, never wavering in their commitment for justice for Michael Johnson, even before they learned who he was. It was one of New York's first cold cases -- seven years of not knowing who or why. And in the end, justice was done.