- The 2013 film Gangster Squad—while fictional and taking some creative liberties with its artistic license—was based on the LAPD's Gangster Squad. - Author James Ellroy used a different, fictionalized version of the Gangster Squad called the "Mobster Squad", in his L.A. Quartet novels. The team is introduced in L.A. Confidential and is headed up by corrupt LAPD officer Dudley Smith. Their duties included beating confessions out of suspects, scaring criminals out of town, and controlling and containing crime.