Who

The foul-mouthed, bearded, spotlight-loving former cop used to bust heads as an NYPD detective. He now goes after insurance scammers and cheating husbands via his private eye firm Beau Dietl Associates.

Backstory

Queens native Dietl spent 16 years as a member of New York City's finest, becoming, in his own words, "one of the most decorated officers in the history of NYPD." Whether or not that's true isn't clear, but Dietl's certainly managed to become one of the department's finest self-promoters. Following his 1985 retirement from the force, he began his second—and much more lucrative—career as an author, occasional movie producer, TV talking head, and private eye. Today he runs he runs Beau Dietl Associates, a private investigation and security firm that handles everything from women who suspect their husbands are cheating on them, to dispatching armed bodyguards to protect VIPs—Donald Trump, Jack Welch and Joe Bruno have been clients—to performing detailed background checks. (He was hired by Bill O'Reilly's lawyers to dig up dirt on former O'Reilly Factor producer Andrea Mackris after she accused the TV anchor of sexual harassment.) As for why it's called Beau Dietl Associates, the ex-cop said he used "Beau" instead of "Bo" to make the firm appear more "professional," just in case you were wondering.

Of note

Although it's his private eye agency that pays the bills, Dietl's taste for the media spotlight has kept him in the public eye for two decades now. In the '90s he earned bit parts in movies and TV shows like Bad Lieutenant, Carlito's Way, Goodfellas and Law & Order. In 1998 he published One Tough Cop, about one of his most famous cases, a Harlem nun who was raped and mutilated in 1981; the story was later turned into a film starring Stephen Baldwin and Chris Penn. ("[It] recycles hoary clichés so bluntly and cluelessly that it only needs a Leslie Nielsen cameo to achieve full self-parody," wrote Variety.) In the late 1990s, Dietl fashioned himself into a movie producer when he teamed up with real estate mogul Steve Witkoff to form How Good Is This Production Company. (Its name was later changed to the more sensible Dietl Witkoff Productions). Alas, the company's only release, 2000's Table One, starring Stephen Baldwin and (now accused murderer) Lillo Brancato, was a flop. He's since bid goodbye to film. These days Dietl is focused on his private investigation biz and makes regular appearances on Fox News and MSNBC. He's also got a line of wine to keep him amused: In January 2007, Drinks America Holdings—the same company that brought you Trump-branded Vodka—launched a collection of Italian vintages with Dietl called Casa BoMargo.

In print

In addition to One Tough Cop, Dietl is the author of the 2005 motivational tome called Business Lunchatations: How an Everyday Guy Became One of America's Most Powerful CEO's…and How You Can Too!

In person

The full-figured Dietl is always in a suit (clearly the best get-up for when you have a business lunchatation) and, from appearances, seems to spend a good chunk of his time in a tanning bed. The devoted cigar smoker—he's such a big fan he had a silver humidor installed in the trunk of his BMW 740i—can be found at least once a week dining at Frankie Pellegrino's famed Harlem eatery, Rao's.

Personal

Bo's first marriage to Regina Dietl ended in divorce. They have two kids, Jacklyn—who landed a small part in Table One—and Richard. He's currently engaged to Margo Urban, the other half of his BoMargo wines. The couple lives on Long Island, in a five-bedroom home they bought for $2.3 million in 2004.

True story

A regular guest on Don Imus's morning show, he once generated controversy for calling former Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe a "panty-wearin' faggot."

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