Cop honored 105 yrs. later
MORE THAN a century after his death, mourners gathered at the grave of a fallen NYPD cop Saturday to hail a break in the mystery of his killing.
Last week, an alleged mobster nabbed in a massive Italian takedown was caught on tape bragging his great-granduncle killed Lt. Joseph Petrosino in 1909.
About a dozen people gathered in Calvary Cemetery in Queens Saturday morning to honor the 49-year-old Petrosino’s memory and sacrifice.
“Italians have unfortunately this reputation of Mafiosos,” said Jerry D’Amato, 70, of the Lt. Joseph Petrosino Association in America, which celebrates the fallen cop’s Italian heritage.
“Joe did the completely opposite, he was a true crimefighter trying to eliminate the Mafia.”
Petrosino led an elite squad that aimed to vanquish Don Vito Cascio Ferro, godfather of the New York Mafia. On March 12, 1909, the brave cop went to meet an informer in Palermo, Sicily, but the rendezvous was a trap and Petrosino was assassinated.
Last week, Palermo cops arrested 95 suspected Mafioso; among them was Domenico Palazzotta, who was caught bragging that his relative killed Petrosino on behalf of Cascio Ferro.
At Saturday’s graveside ceremony, Sergio Cirelli, chief inspector of the Italian State Police, praised the long-dead cop.
“Joe Petrosino is a legend,” Cirelli said. “He is all an Italian policeman wishes to be.”