In Praise of the Artistic Genius of the Herald

One of the great pleasures in our daily grind is seeing what the Herald’s art department does on the front page. Monday’s front page featured a terrifying image from peace activist Hillel Neuer’s arrest, and yesterday’s “Hack Lash!” headline showcased the paper’s love of puns. But those attention-grabbing visuals are nothing compared to how perfectly today’s cover reflects the salacious story inside.

Roberto “Kiko” Pulido, a Boston Police officer, faces federal charges after he and two fellow officers promised to help undercover FBI agents transport 40 kilos of cocaine from the Berkshires to Boston. Now that his case has gone to trial, the FBI is playing tapes of conversations its agents had with Pulido, many of which implicate BPD officers in illegal activities.

The real genius of the Herald’s cover is that it picks up on every detail of the story. Sure, we know where the cocaine and the police hat come from. But weren’t all the officers involved in the drug-running scheme men?

Dear reader, there’s more to this story than drugs and crooked cops.

For his 41st birthday on April 23, 2006, the alleged co-manager of the “Boom-Boom Room,” Boston police officer Roberto Pulido’s illegal after-hours club, offered the accused crooked cop an Asian hooker as a gift.

It’s an inspired visual. The woman’s shapely legs straddle the cocaine and officer’s hat. The laces on her shoes are vaguely fetish-inspired, but not too kinky for the paper’s audience. Then there’s the garter belt. While it’s placed about a foot and a half too low on the leg, the style hearkens back to the speakeasies of the ’20s, just like the completely stupid name the crooked cops gave their den of sin.

We salute you, Herald, for your attention to detail. It’s what sets you apart in this two newspaper town.