Ex-BPD commissioner di Grazia dead at 90
Former Boston police Commissioner Robert J. di Grazia died suddenly yesterday at his home office in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 90.
Mr. di Grazia was a native of San Francisco, the son of immigrants from the Tuscany region of Italy. He was a graduate of Galileo High School in San Francisco and later graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree.
Mr. di Grazia served in the United States Coast Guard.
“He was a typical Italian. He didn’t take guff from anybody,” said his son Michael. “He liked doing the right thing. He was a very straightforward person.”
“He was a strong personality, and rose through the ranks, and became one of the most respected police leaders in the country,” said his son Robert P. di Grazia.
Mr. di Grazia served as Boston police commissioner from 1972 to 1977, under Mayor Kevin White and oversaw the police handling of the busing crisis. He was credited at the time with helping to prevent violence.
At the time he left the post of commissioner, Mr. di Grazia reflected on his experience, saying, “there is more to the job than crook-catching.”
Former Deputy Mayor Robert Kiley said at the time: “He was a great police commissioner, I think even the cops who didn’t like him would say he stood for them on basic issues. The average citizen thinks better of the average cop than he did four or five years ago. He upgraded this department.” Mr. di Grazia had previously served as an officer, sergeant and ultimately chief of the Novato, Calif., Police Department in the 1960s. He then led the St. Louis County Police Department from 1970 to 1972.
After Boston, he served as superintendent of the Montgomery County Police Department. He later became a law enforcement consultant and an expert witness in police practice and procedure.
He was the husband of the late Patricia Ann (Sperry) di Grazia for 25 years. He is survived by his wife, Donna Woods Mahoney, to whom he was married for 40 years; two sons, Robert P. of Lynn, and Michael of Sterling; two daughters, Alisa of Greencastle, Penn., and Gina of San Francisco, Calif.; three step-daughters, Patricia and Lorie of California, and Kerri of Maryland; a brother, Roland of Sacramento, Calif.; and 11 grandchildren.