[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO DETECTIVE LT. GIUSEPPE PETROSINO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2007

  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life 
and memory of Detective Lt. Giuseppe Petrosino. An immigrant from 
Padula, Salerno, Italy, Lt. Petrosino was the first Italian-American to 
be named detective in the New York Police Department. His contributions 
to the Police Force and to the worlds of criminal investigation and 
prevention are still honored by the governments of Italy and the United 
States.
  Lt. Petrosino is responsible for the creation of the Bomb Squad, the 
first unit of its kind in the United States. Additionally, he formed 
the Italian Branch, an elite corps of Italian-American police officers 
within the NYPD considered by many to be the world's first undercover 
police officers. Under Lt. Petrosino's guidance in the early 1900s, the 
Italian Branch arrested thousands of members of an Italian extortion 
racket referred to as the Black Hand, while simultaneously working to 
successfully reduce crimes committed against Italian Americans by 
nearly half. Not only was Lt. Petrosino the first Italian to earn the 
rank of Lieutenant in the United States, but he was also the first and 
only NYPD officer to receive funeral solemnities in both Italy and the 
United States. Over 25,000 mourners were in attendance for his services 
and President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed about his death, ``He was a 
just man, a worthy man, and a man to admire. I am grieved at the loss 
of a friend.''
  We are forever indebted to the work and dedication of Detective Lt. 
Giuseppe Petrosino and his career remains a source of pride and 
inspiration for the Italian-American community that he was so committed 
to in New York City. It is with great honor and privilege today that I 
acknowledge the achievements of this hero, Lt. Giuseppe Petrosino.

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