THE ALVAREZ JOURNAL

A step-by-step account of the biggest heroin bust in Denver history as instigated by a Chicano detective in the Special Narcotics Section, Organized Crime Division, D.P.D. Gabriel Villanueva Wager--""to the spicks he was a honky, to the honkies he was a spick""--goes into action when he becomes suspicious about his old crony Rafael Alvarez, a recently paroled marijuana dealer living the good life with no visible means of support. Squeezing snitches (hard), stake-outs, surveillance and a wiretap are all necessary to verify that the hard stuff is indeed being smuggled out of Mexico. Wager's a 24-hour-a-day cop with about as much personality as a career drill instructor. A solidly methodical case you won't smack your lips over. Ten-four.