Leonard Levitt

Leonard Hugh Levitt (April 27, 1941 – May 18, 2020) was an American author known for his books about crime and the New York City Police Department. He was an Edgar Award winner and worked as a Peace Corps teacher in Tanzania in the early and mid-1960s. He was also the author of An African Season about his experiences in Tanzania and as a teacher. It was the first book ever written by a Peace Corps volunteer.

Early life Levitt was born in The Bronx, New York City, on April 27, 1941. His father, Boris, operated a business dealing with import/export; his mother, Celia (Kossovsky), was an English teacher at Hunter College. He grew up in the Five Towns area on Long Island. Levitt also taught Oscar Mwamwaja, one of Tanzania's first commercial airline pilots who survived an Air Tanzania hijacking on February 26, 1982, during which he was forced to fly from Tanzania to Britain, according to reports, "Hijacked Jetliner Arrives in Britain," The New York Times, 28 February 1982, and "4 Tanzanian Hijackers Surrender; 90 Hostages Are Freed in Britain," The New York Times, 1 March 1982. Levitt wrote about his experiences as a teacher in Tanzania in the article "Tanzania: A Dream Deferred", as well as the book An African Season..

In his book, Africa: Dawn of a New Era, Godfrey Mwakikagile stated the following about Leonard Levitt:

“I remember very well what one of our first Peace Corp teachers said when he introduced himself to us in class at Mpuguso Middle School in Rungwe District in the Southern Highlands one morning in the early part of 1964 when I was in standard eight, what Americans call the eighth grade. He said: 'My name is Leonard Levitt. I am a Jew from New York City.'” - (Godfrey Mwakikagile, Africa: Dawn of a New Era, New Africa Press, 2015, p. 314).

Career After graduating from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Levitt was first hired by the Long Island Press to be their sportswriter on a part-time basis. They concluded that the local police had acquiesced to the Skakel family, who were related to the Kennedy family through marriage. The report prompted authorities to reopen its investigation and press charges against Michael Skakel for murder. The New York City Police Department proceeded to revoke his press pass and prohibited him from entering the Department's headquarters, claiming that he was no longer licensed to possess credentials. However, he eventually regained these with the assistance of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Personal life Levitt was married to Susan (née Gina) for 46 years. Together, they had a son (Michael) and a daughter (Jennifer).

Levitt died on May 18, 2020, at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. He was 79, and had been suffering from lung cancer in the two years leading up to his death. News of his death was first announced by his daughter.

Published books An African Season, Simon and Schuster, 1967 The Long Way Round (1972) The Healer: A True Story of Medicine and Murder (1980) Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder: A Reporter and a Detective's Twenty-Year Search for Justice (2004) NYPD Confidential: Power and Corruption in the Country's Greatest Police Force (2009)