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Dudley Liam Smith (1905 - ?), is a fictional character in several novels by American novelist James...

Dudley Liam Smith (1905 - ?), is a fictional character in several novels by American novelist James Ellroy. Smith was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1905, and later immigrated to the United States, where he joined the LAPD in 1928. Smith was the clandestine protector of two rival criminal families, the Herricks and the Kafesjians, in the 1930s, in 1942 murdered Joe Diaz in the famous Sleepy Lagoon murder case. He is first mentioned in "The Big Nowhere", which is set in 1950, where he is recruited by Deputy D.A. Ellis Loew to investigate Communist influence in Hollwyood. He and his partner Mal Considine pursue this assignment with vigor. It was in this book that the extent of his personal corruption was revealed; as well as Jose Diaz, Dudley and his men were involved in other criminal activities, and in February 1950 Dudley personally tracked down and killed protagonist Buzz Meeks in Mexico, as is stated in the prologue to "L.A. Confidential." By 1950 Dudley had reached the rank of Lieutenant, and he would remain there throughout the 1950s, until his promotion to Captain in 1958. By this time, his personal rivalry with fellow LAPD Captain Edmund Exley resulted in a power struggle