Once Upon a Crime: The Borrelli Davis Conspiracy

With this astonishing documentary, director Sheldon Wilson brings us a true-crime story from our own backyard. In 1975, retired NYPD detective Mike Borrelli moved to Denver to start a new life in the restaurant industry only to find himself and his former partner, Bob Davis, charged with murder on the false grounds that they'd been sent to Colorado by one of New York's most notorious mob bosses to carry out a hit on a local businessman. In need of a political win, Denver's law-enforcement agencies were hell-bent on a conviction—so enter Terry Lee D'Prero, the actual gunman, whose sketchy testimony was treated as the deciding factor in the case, despite the holes in his story. As D'Prero conveniently disappeared into witness protection, Borrelli and Davis were left to wither away behind bars—yet the duo remained friends for decades. Once Upon A Crime has it all: corruption at the highest levels, yellow journalism, gangland violence, racial injustice, unshakeable loyalty, and even a little Elvis Presley. (Denver International Film Festival)