Lucky Phil - A Life Recalled

From Brooklyn to Guam to the NYPD. Show me the books a man longs to read and I will tell you of his crying need. It isn’t easy writing a book especially if the author endures great challenges to complete the task. This is the case with Phil Tripi who began penning his thoughts at a late age in his life. An accidental fall resulting in a concussion interrupted this author who thought he would never complete his aspiring ambition. To say he was hospitalized three or four more times while competing with the doctor’s greatest skills to keep him alive is not telling the half. Once Phil regained his inspiration, the challenge of finalizing that last chapter still remained as illusive as the thought of his recovery. Well, both have found their place only several weeks shy of his 87th birthday. Phil succeeded with lucid clarity. He brings you inside his personal journey. It is in his own words that draw you into the extraordinary events that nearly took his life above and beyond normal counts. He is a man with more than 9 lives. No, it wasn’t easy writing this book. What is even more challenging is watching to see if there is strong interest by others who give it that sparkling relevance. The greatest part of his writing rests with the satisfaction of just living with its completion. But it is with greater joy knowing a book is appreciated far beyond the author’s sphere of influence by those who personally know him. This is a story of true accounts that really bewilder the casual reader. We often discussed the title around the kitchen table politely reminding my Dad that there is a difference between the “Hand of Luck” and the “Hand of God”. It is not easy to translate real live events of extraordinary character into pulsating phrases that rivet your attention. However, my Dad has done that without enlisting the aid of ghostwriters. Whether those phrases are complete enough to draw the masses, well, only time will tell. Nevertheless, no such “Hand of Luck” could have authored what you are about to read. I know you will enjoy “Lucky Phil or Divine Intervention”…..John Tripi

This book, was like a flashback in time for me. I lived through the late 40's 50's and 60's hearing about these almost unbelievable encounters. Lucky Phil was my Uncle Phil (Rose, my mother, his sister). He was more like a Father, big brother ,and mentor, along with Uncle Vinny mentioned in the book.
The many stories were familiar but many I hadn't heard. But now ,much older as I read the book, I concluded that this was much more than "LUCK". The plan for his life was unselfish caring, and Divine Intervention was always there for him to endure, and enable him to share a great life with his Family, friends, and co-workers in Law Enforcement so we all have a semblance of order in our lives.
Thanks Uncle Phil for a great life and your service.
Ronnie (DeRolo)

This reading adventure is compiled from true stories that began in the tenements of Brooklyn to the island of Guam and ultimately to the harrowing life of Phil Tripi as a NYPD detective. Here, you’ll read about the attempted assassination of a world leader that no one seems to know about. His name was Nehru. And you’ll find back-stories and encounters with Khrushchev, John Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, the Beatles and a host of Damon Runyon street characters. They include Shorty the Rapist, Big Doo Jesse, Tommy the Corpse, Eddie the Wannabe, Pistol Packing Nancy, Judy the Chick and even Tina the Elephant.

As Mickey Spillane might have described it, Lucky Phil “lived a life filled with dirt and color just like a street in NYC after the rain”. One of his cases was cited in a famous Supreme Court Ruling. Here’s a sample from a story entitled “Protecting The Material Witness”… I yelled out, “Stop her Tom”” But he was still busy trying to get dressed. She ran down the hallway toward the elevator. In his haste, Tom grabbed my pants and attempted to stuff all of his 210 pounds into them. I pulled on his pants. They were huge. We couldn’t get our act together. We were two hapless detectives in a comedy scene.