eddie 's ever-revolving unit of cowboy-cops -- the kind of cops commissioner o'meara had sworn to purge from the force -- hit street crews on their way to heists , rousted ex- cons five steps out of the charlestown penitentiary , and had a network of stoolies , grifters , and street spies so immense that it would have been a boon to every cop in the city if mckenna had n't kept all names and all history of interactions with said names solely in his head .