A new generation of crimefighters flocked to Bensonhurst last Thursday to honor the memory of Lt. Giuseppe (Joseph) Petrosino — the only New York police officer to die overseas in the line of duty.
Cops from across the city formed a long line of blue at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on 15th Avenue, between 72nd and 73rd streets, joining District Attorney Charles Hynes and his staff — among them the Italian native’s great grand nephew and namesake — to solemnly salute the hardline law enforcer, who stood 5-foot-3, but never backed down from a fight against crime.
Petrosino is best remembered for being murdered in Sicily by organized crime figures in 1909, but he was a legend in the NYPD long before that.
In 1895, Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt personally promoted him to sergeant of detectives. And six years later, he tipped off the Secret Service about President William McKinley’s prospective killers — though the agency didn’t listen to him.
In Brooklyn, Petrosino’s stint with the Italian Squad still generates buzz in NYPD’s most hallowed halls. One notable case involved famed Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, who was being extorted by the Black Hand gang around the time of his performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Metropolitan Opera House during the early 1900s.
It was Petrosino who convinced the singer to help him catch the gang by agreeing to their financial demands.
When the extortionist arrived for what he thought was a meeting with Caruso, he was greeted by Petrosino who reportedly broke the man’s legs, put him on a ship to Sicily and threatened to shoot him if he ever returned.
Petrosino’s March 12, 1909 funeral in Manhattan was attended by 250,000 people, and New York City designated the day a holiday to allow citizens to pay their respects to the beloved cop, who sometimes broke the rules to deliver swift justice.
There are lasting reminders across the city of the beloved and plucky cop’s wide reach: A park named after him is just north of the original NYPD headquarters in Manhattan; and Kenmare Street nearby is named in honor of County Kerry, Ireland — the birthplace of Petrosino’s mother.