Frank Serpico is a retired New York City police detective, author, lecturer and policing expert. He was born on April 14, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Maria Giovanna, was born in Ohio and moved back to Italy when she was a young girl. His father, Vincenzo, was born in Italy. Frank enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 18 and served for two years in Korea. When he returned home he worked part-time as a private investigator and youth board counselor while he attended college.

Frank joined the New York City Police Department on September 11, 1959 at the age of 23. He was a police officer for 12 years, during his last several years on the force, his attempts to report police corruption to his superiors in the department fell on deaf ears. After a harrowing interrogation by U.S. Customs officials upon returning from a European vacation, Frank finally decided to go to the New York Times. A New York Times expose was subsequently written on police corruption in the New York City Police Department which prompted then Mayor John Lindsay to appoint Judge Whittman Knapp to head the Knapp Commission to investigate the pervasive problem of corruption in the New York City Police Department. Frank was shot in the face during a "buy and bust" operation on February 3, 1971 and later that year testified in front of the Knapp Commission regarding his ordeal in trying to report police corruption within the ranks of the NYPD. Many people believe that Frank was set up by the police in order to silence him.

Frank's story was documented in a New York Times bestseller written by Peter Maas which went on to sell over 3 million copies and an Academy Award nominated movie which helped launch the acting career of Al Pacino. The book Serpico was recently republished in the U.S. and England.

After being shot, Frank moved to Europe to recuperate and spent a decade there, living, traveling and studying. He returned to the States in the early eighties and has been living quietly in the mountains of New York State, studying and lecturing on occasion to students at universities and police academies and sharing experiences with police officers who are currently going through similar experiences. Frank has studied various cultures and speaks a number of languages, he has studied animal and human behavior, alternative medicine, music, art, literature and philosophy among other disciplines.

He sculpts and has recently been studying African drumming and Argentine tango. In 1997, he testified at the New York City Council regarding legislation to institute an Independent Audit Board to review incidences of police corruption and brutality in New York City in the hope of getting legislation passed that will make it easier for honest officers to come forward and tell the truth. Frank continues to speak out against corruption and injustice and has recently started a production company that focuses on projects that progress strong concepts of ethics.