Latest news with #Pucciano
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
NYPD's ‘Italian Sherlock Holmes' Joseph Pucciano finally receives grave marker more than a century after his death
Now they can both rest in peace. An NYPD detective known as the 'Italian Sherlock Holmes' more than a century ago was finally given a marked grave in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery on Tuesday — a year after his hero partner, who was slain chasing a robber, got a headstone, too. Detective Joseph Pucciano, who died in 1928 of tuberculosis, now has a gravestone in the historic cemetery alongside Detective Bernardino Grottano — his cousin by marriage and a fellow member of the NYPD's former Italian Squad that investigated the Mafia. Grottano was killed during a cigar-store hold-up in 1924. Both Grottano and Pucciano had been buried in a private lot with six graves containing the remains of about 30 people, but their plots went unmarked — until a combination of family research and support from the Detectives' Endowment Association changed that. Grottano — whose widow was reportedly too poor to buy a marker when he died — received his headstone last year. It's unclear why Pucciano's grave went unmarked for so long, but he finally received his headstone Tuesday. As about two dozen family members including children, looked on – some wearing NYPD blue – a pair of cops ceremoniously removed a royal blue cloth covering the brand-new marker over Pucciano's plot. The headstone was engraved with the words, 'Joseph L. Pucciano, Fidelis Ad Mortem, End of Watch July 16, 1928,' alongside a portrait of the detective and the Detectives Endowment Association shield. 'I think it's a wonderful thing to get this detective a headstone so his grandchildren and maybe their grandchildren can have a place to remember him,' DEA President Scott Munro said. 'It's all about taking care of our detectives.' Pucciano had 'a highly successful law enforcement career taking down ruthless mobsters, criminal gangs' and 'locked up at least 40 killers,' many of whom wound up in the electric chair, Munro said. 'He was a tough, seasoned, smart, savvy investigator, and he was dubbed by the press, the Master Detective, the Italian Sherlock Holmes,' the union head said. 'The DEA felt strongly that our detective deserves to be recognized in death as he was in life.' The cemetery situation involving Pucciano and Grottano didn't come to light till retired NYPD Detective William Markowski, 65, hit a wall researching his own family history and then started digging into that of his fiancee, Phyllis Kropacek, he said. The couple realized that Kropacek's great-great uncle, Grottano, was buried in the famed cemetery — but without a marker. Grottano was off-duty in downtown Brooklyn the night of May 19, 1924, when a robber ran past him with a uniformed cop in pursuit after ripping off a shop at Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street. Grottano joined the patrolman in the chase, and the suspect opened fire on the officers, prompting them to return fire. Grottano was struck in the chest and fell to the ground, while the patrolman was hit in the arm but survived. 'The 26-year-old perpetrator was also felled during the volley and died at the scene,' according to the Detectives Endowment Association website. 'He had a long rap sheet that included grand larceny and drugs.' At the time, Grottano's widow, Mary, was juggling hospital bills and had two children to raise alone, so she couldn't afford a headstone, according to newspaper stories from the time. Markowski reached out to the Detectives Endowment Association, and the union offered to help pay for the marker. Grottano's grave received its long-awaited headstone about a year ago, leaving only Pucciano's plot still needing its proper endowment, which it got Tuesday. 'They were partners for a short time, but now they're together forever,' Kropacek said. Grottano's wife and Pucciano were first cousins – and the two men grew even closer through their partnership in the Italian Squad. 'At that time in the Police Department, there weren't a lot of Italian cops,' Markowski said. 'When their careers started, both of them were very young, like 23, 24 years old.' At the time, the NYPD was made up of mostly Irish-Americans. ' They couldn't speak to the Italian people that were getting robbed,' he said of most of the officers at the time. 'That's why the 'Black Hand,' or the Mafia, took advantage of so many Italian Americans at the time, because even when they wanted to tell the police, the police would just shoo them off because they wouldn't understand what they were talking about.' Through investigating Grottano and Pucciano's storied and heroic NYPD past, Kropacek said she has now connected with a whole new side of her family. ' They're so happy, really, both families. Really, it's is very, very nice,' Kropacek said. 'There are pictures. I know people in my family that look like Bernardino. I'm like, 'Oh My God!' '
New York Post
20-05-2025
- New York Post
NYPD's ‘Italian Sherlock Holmes' finally receives grave marker more than century after death
Now they can both rest in peace. An NYPD detective known as the 'Italian Sherlock Holmes' more than a century ago was finally given a marked grave in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery on Tuesday — a year after his hero partner, who was slain chasing a robber, got a headstone, too. Detective Joseph Pucciano, who died in 1928 of tuberculosis, now has a gravestone in the historic cemetery alongside Detective Bernardino Grottano — his cousin by marriage and a fellow member of the NYPD's former Italian Squad that investigated the Mafia. Grottano was killed during a cigar-store hold-up in 1924. Both Grottano and Pucciano had been buried in a private lot with six graves containing the remains of about 30 people, but their plots went unmarked — until a combination of family research and support from the Detectives' Endowment Association changed that. 8 NYPD Detective Joseph Pucciano's great-great-grandson Alex, 11, holds a photo of his impressive relative at Tuesday's service. Gabriella Bass 8 Pucciano's long overdue recognition came about a year after NYPD partner Bernardino Grottano's plot also received a headstone. Gabriella Bass Grottano — whose widow was reportedly too poor to buy a marker when he died — received his headstone last year. It's unclear why Pucciano's grave went unmarked for so long, but he finally received his headstone Tuesday. As about two dozen family members including children, looked on – some wearing NYPD blue – a pair of cops ceremoniously removed a royal blue cloth covering the brand-new marker over Pucciano's plot. The headstone was engraved with the words, 'Joseph L. Pucciano, Fidelis Ad Mortem, End of Watch July 16, 1928,' alongside a portrait of the detective and the Detectives Endowment Association shield. 8 Tuesday's touching gravestone ceremony honored Pucciano, who died in 1928 and was known as the 'Italian Sherlock Holmes.' Gabriella Bass 8 Pucciano worked in the department's onetime Italian Squad. Gabriella Bass 'I think it's a wonderful thing to get this detective a headstone so his grandchildren and maybe their grandchildren can have a place to remember him,' DEA President Scott Munro said. 'It's all about taking care of our detectives.' Pucciano had 'a highly successful law enforcement career taking down ruthless mobsters, criminal gangs' and 'locked up at least 40 killers,' many of whom wound up in the electric chair, Munro said. 'He was a tough, seasoned, smart, savvy investigator, and he was dubbed by the press, the Master Detective, the Italian Sherlock Holmes,' the union head said. 'The DEA felt strongly that our detective deserves to be recognized in death as he was in life.' 8 Pucciano's kin honor their ancestor at Tuesday's service. Gabriella Bass The cemetery situation involving Pucciano and Grottano didn't come to light till retired NYPD Detective William Markowski, 65, hit a wall researching his own family history and then started digging into that of his fiancee, Phyllis Kropacek, he said. The couple realized that Kropacek's great-great uncle, Grottano, was buried in the famed cemetery — but without a marker. 8 DEA President Scott Munro said Pucciano 'locked up at least 40 killers' during his career. Gabriella Bass Grottano was off-duty in downtown Brooklyn the night of May 19, 1924, when a robber ran past him with a uniformed cop in pursuit after ripping off a shop at Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street. Grottano joined the patrolman in the chase, and the suspect opened fire on the officers, prompting them to return fire. Grottano was struck in the chest and fell to the ground, while the patrolman was hit in the arm but survived. 8 Pucciano and Grottano worked in the department squad that investigated the Mafia. Gabriella Bass 'The 26-year-old perpetrator was also felled during the volley and died at the scene,' according to the Detectives Endowment Association website. 'He had a long rap sheet that included grand larceny and drugs.' At the time, Grottano's widow, Mary, was juggling hospital bills and had two children to raise alone, so she couldn't afford a headstone, according to newspaper stories from the time. Markowski reached out to the Detectives Endowment Association, and the union offered to help pay for the marker. Grottano's grave received its long-awaited headstone about a year ago, leaving only Pucciano's plot still needing its proper endowment, which it got Tuesday. 8 The long-dead cops have now both been honored. Gabriella Bass 'They were partners for a short time, but now they're together forever,' Kropacek said. Grottano's wife and Pucciano were first cousins – and the two men grew even closer through their partnership in the Italian Squad. 'At that time in the Police Department, there weren't a lot of Italian cops,' Markowski said. 'When their careers started, both of them were very young, like 23, 24 years old.' At the time, the NYPD was made up of mostly Irish-Americans. ' They couldn't speak to the Italian people that were getting robbed,' he said of most of the officers at the time. 'That's why the 'Black Hand,' or the Mafia, took advantage of so many Italian Americans at the time, because even when they wanted to tell the police, the police would just shoo them off because they wouldn't understand what they were talking about.' Through investigating Grottano and Pucciano's storied and heroic NYPD past, Kropacek said she has now connected with a whole new side of her family. ' They're so happy, really, both families. Really, it's is very, very nice,' Kropacek said. 'There are pictures. I know people in my family that look like Bernardino. I'm like, 'Oh My God!' '
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
NYPD ‘Italian Sherlock Holmes' detective to get gravestone century after death
An NYPD detective dubbed the 'Italian Sherlock Holmes' will finally be getting a gravesite marker nearly a century after his death, the Daily News has learned. Members of the Detectives Endowment Association will unveil the headstone for Detective Joseph Pucciano at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery on Tuesday. Pucciano, a heralded gang-buster and member of the NYPD's famed Italian Squad in the 1920s, died July 13, 1928, of pulmonary tuberculosis, members said. He repeatedly graced the pages of the Daily News with reports of his headline-grabbing arrests. 'Joe solved a dozen or more seemingly unsolvable murders,' The News wrote a month after the detective's death. 'His memory was deep. His luck was good. He was called in to succeed where the ferreting of others had failed. The greatest of his long list of victories was the imprisonment or execution of almost 50 members of one of New York's most ruthless predatory gangs.' The steely-eyed detective was born in Calabria, Italy in 1879. He grew up on the Lower East Side and learned to speak four languages: English, Italian, Chinese and Albanian. He joined the NYPD in 1905 and spent the next 20 years busting gangsters in Brooklyn as part of the Italian Squad and the Brooklyn homicide squad. The Italian Squad was made up of Italian-born cops focused on mob-related murders and mayhem. 'Pucciano was a hard-hitting, smart, innovative and savvy investigator who earned his detective shield within five years,' the DEA noted. '[He] worked on a wide array of cases that ranged from huge, organized crime takedowns of shakedown artists like the notorious Navy Street Gang, to abduction and kidnapping for ransom, as well as Prohibition-era poisoning cases and narcotics.' He handled more than 40 murder investigations and was nicknamed both 'The Italian Sherlock Holmes' and 'The Master Detective' in the press, the union said. One of his biggest cases was the apprehension of Tony Perreti, 'nicknamed for no rhyme or reason 'Tony the Shoemaker,'' The News noted at the time. Perreti, the head of the Navy Street Gang who plotted 23 murders and was known to have lavish dinners where he outlined his plans to rub out rival gang leaders, had organized the execution of two rival gangsters from Harlem and had already fled to the West Coast when Pucciano was put on the case. Pucciano was able solve the double killing and locate one of the conspirators, Ralph 'The Barber' Doniello by visiting Perreti's coffee house, where the detective 'accidentally — or on purpose — knocked down a picture from the wall,' The News said. Several addresses were written on the wall behind the picture, including Doniello's. 'How Pucciano knew it was there will never be known,' The News noted. The detective grabbed Doniello in Reno, Nev. He immediately turned state witness and helped Pucciano round up the rest of his gang. Nearly a decade later, just a year before the detective's death, Perreti was sent to the electric chair. Pucciano was survived by two sons and a daughter. His son, George, became an NYPD cop. Yet his grave never had a marker. The DEA learned about the oversight last year as they unveiled a headstone for Detective Bernardino Grottano, who was shot and killed as he chased a robbery suspect while off duty on May 19, 1924. Grottano's widow couldn't afford a headstone at the time of her husband's death. Grottano was another NYPD detective lost to time until the DEA stepped in to pay for a dignified marker for the hero cop. As they were preparing the unveiling of Grottano's headstone, DEA members learned that he was a partner of Pucciano, who was buried a few plots over and also didn't have a headstone. The union couldn't locate any of Pucciano's descendants, but felt it was important to honor the detective with the same tribute. 'The job hasn't changed, and none did it better,' DEA President Scott Munro said about Pucciano. '[He] served the citizens of the city with bravery and distinction.'
