Edwin Torres (born January 7, 1931) is a former

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

judge and author of Puerto Rican descent, who wrote the 1975 novel ''

Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels '' Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pa ...

''. His book was the basis for the 1993 movie of the same name, starring Al Pacino, and for the 1979 book '' After Hours,'' the sequel to ''Carlito's Way''.

Early years

Both of Torres's parents emigrated from

Jayuya, Puerto Rico Jayuya (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the mountainous center region of the island, north of Ponce; east of Utuado; and west of Ciales. Jayuya is spread over 10 barrios and Jayuya Pueblo (the downtown and administr ...

, and settled in the barrio in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

, where Torres was born. Growing up in poverty, Torres graduated from Stuyvesant High School. From there he attended City College of the City University of New York, followed by the

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

Legal career

In 1958, Torres was admitted to the New York State Bar. In 1959, as an assistant district attorney, Torres participated in the prosecution of Sal "the Capeman" Agron. Shortly thereafter he became a criminal defense attorney. In 1977, Torres was appointed to the New York State Criminal Court. In 1980 he was selected to the State Supreme Court, where he served as a justice in the Twelfth Judicial District in New York City. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over felony cases, and Torres presided over a number of high-profile murder cases. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called Torres “one of the city’s most experienced and sternest judges and a man known for a crackling eloquence both in and out of the courtroom.” A famous exchange involved his telling a convicted murderer, “Sucker, your parole officer ain’t been born yet.” In the ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'' season 1 episode "Semi-Professional," the Judge Raoul Sabatelli character is said to have been inspired by Judge Torres. He retired from the bench in 2008 and since then has served on the

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

Writer of fiction

Torres’ tough upbringing in Manhattan and his work in the criminal justice system enabled him to create realistic

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

characters and plots. Richie Narvaez called him "the Granddaddy—''¡El Abuelo!''—of Latino crime fiction in the U.S. For a brief while in the 1970s, Torres picked up the mantle of

Chester Himes Chester Bomar Himes (July 29, 1909 – November 12, 1984) was an American writer. His works, some of which have been filmed, include '' If He Hollers Let Him Go'', published in 1945, and the Harlem Detective series of novels for which he is be ...

and Miguel Piñero, keeping the door cracked open for crime fiction writers who happen to be ethnically diverse. Without Torres we might not have gotten Ernesto Quiñonez’ ''Bodega Dreams,'' Carolina Garcia-Aguilera’s Lupe Solano series, or even Walter Mosley’s ''Devil in a Blue Dress''." Torres wrote ''

'' in 1975 and its sequel '' After Hours'' in 1979; both novels follow the exploits of Carlito Brigante, a fictional Puerto Rican drug kingpin and hustler who ends up doing time in Sing-Sing and struggles to go "straight" after his release. ''The New Yorker'' praised ''Carlito’s Way:'' “It is in the grisly tradition of ''Little Caesar, The Jones Men,'' and ''The Friends of Eddie Coyle,'' and it is the equal of any of them.” Another novel, ''Q & A'' (1977), portrays the investigation of a decorated New York City police lieutenant suspected of corruption. Of the book, ''The New York Times'' noted, “Judge Torres infuses these nearly current events with so much life and style that you can almost smell the musty air of 100 Centre Street.”

Film adaptations

A film adaptation of '' Q & A'' was released in 1990, directed by Sidney Lumet, and it starred

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

and

Armand Assante Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When ...

. ''After Hours'' was filmed in 1993, but used the title ''

'' to avoid being confused with

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

's 1985 film '' After Hours''. The film starred Al Pacino and

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

, under the direction of

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

. The novel ''Carlito's Way'' was filmed in 2005 and released under the title '' Carlito's Way: Rise to Power''.

References

External links