Who

Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels, the group of beret-wearing quasi-vigilantes who roamed the streets in the '80s. He's also a radio and TV commentator.

Backstory

Born and raised in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, Sliwa was working as an assistant night manager at a McDonald's in the Bronx when he launched the Guardian Angels in 1979. Drugs and poverty had turned New York into the crime capital of the nation, and the city's precarious financial position meant a shortage of cops on the streets. Sliwa took matters into his own hands, gathering groups of young men to patrol the city clad in red berets and black combat boots. His efforts almost immediately created controversy—critics decried the Angels as vigilantes ill-trained to deal with the crime epidemic. But for much of the 1980s, the Angels were a regular sight on the city's streets and subways, and Sliwa became a news staple thanks to his regular press conferences highlighting the heroic acts supposedly performed by the Angels. (It would later turn out that many of the incidents had been fabricated to drum up publicity.)

As the city's crime wave subsided in the 1990s, Sliwa morphed into a radio talking head, landing a slot on WABC-AM with his then-wife, Lisa. A high-profile attempt on his life in 1992 led to the cancellation of the show; Sliwa later hosted a program on WNYC before moving back to WABC in 2000 with Curtis & Kuby, a show Sliwa co-hosted with attorney Ron Kuby. A TV iteration of the show on MSNBC in 2002 was quickly cancelled, but their radio program persisted until November 2007, when WABC dropped the duo to make room for Don Imus. Sliwa earned back his daytime gig in March of 2008 when WABC canned John Gambling.

Of note

Sliwa was an iconic presence in the city back in the day, doling out tough talk in his red beret, Guardian Angels t-shirt, and parachute pants. Curtis still dons the beret for the odd photo-op (and occasionally sports a red sateen jacket with "Curtis" stitched on the front) and he continues to officially oversee the organization, but it isn't nearly as relevant or active as it once was. These days Sliwa spends most of his time—and generates all of his income—from his career on radio and TV. In addition to his gig at WABC, he also makes regular appearances on Fox News and NY1.

Close call

In 1992, Sliwa stepped into a yellow cab outside his East Village apartment and was shot at point-blank range by two men inside the car. He managed to escape by diving out of the window and survived, despite near-fatal injuries. Prosecutors later alleged that John A. "Junior" Gotti, the son of the now-deceased Mob boss John Gotti, had orchestrated the crime, reportedly in retaliation for comments Sliwa made on the air about his father. But the prosecution had trouble making the case stick: Junior went to trial three times on charges of kidnapping and attempted murder and the jury deadlocked each time. Bizarrely, Ron Kuby, Sliwa's radio partner, ended up testifying on Gotti's behalf at one of the trials, leading Sliwa to brand him as "Judas" on the air.

Personal

Sliwa married Lisa Evers in 1981; they divorced in 1993. (She's now a reporter for Fox 5.) His third wife Mary works as executive director of the Guardian Angels Alliance. They have one son, Anthony, and live in a Carnegie Hill apartment they purchased for $1.9 million in 2006.

Family ties

Sliwa's sister is Aleta St. James, a self-proclaimed healer who uses mystical chanting and African drumming to create "life shifting experiences." She earned headlines in 2004 after giving birth to twins three days before her 57th birthday, making her one of the oldest new mothers in history.

No joke

Sliwa won the Carnegie Deli Pickle Eating Contest four years in a row before losing the title in 2000. (One year he managed to gobble down 4.75 pounds of sour pickles in 10 minutes.) He's also New York's unofficial "Stickball Commissioner," a post he says Rudy Giuliani appointed him to in 1993.