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The Italian Squad: The True Story of the Immigrant Cops Who Fought the Rise of the Mafia
The unknown inside story of the NYPD’s Italian-born detectives who fought both powerful gangsters and the deeply ingrained prejudice against their own beloved immigrant community
The story begins in Sicily, on Friday, March 12, 1909, at 8:45 p.m. Three gunshots thundered in the night, and then a fourth. Two men fled, and investigators soon discovered who they had Giuseppe Petrosino, the legendary American detective whose exploits in New York were celebrated even in Italy.
The Italian Squad, by veteran New York City journalist and historian Paul Moses, explores the lives of the nationally celebrated detectives who followed in the slain Petrosino’s footsteps as leaders of the New York City investigative Anthony Vachris, Charles Corrao, and Michael Fiaschetti. Drawing on new primary sources such as private diaries and city, state, and federal documents, this dramatic narrative history follows the Italian Squad across the first two decades of the twentieth century as its detectives battled increasingly powerful gangsters, political obstacles and deeply ingrained prejudice against their own beloved Italian immigrant community.
Vachris, Corrao, and Fiaschetti became, like Petrosino, famous for meting out tough justice to criminals who comprised the “Black Hand.” Beyond trying to prevent horrific crimes―nighttime bombings in crowded tenements, kidnappings that targeted children at play, gangland shootings that killed innocent bystanders―the Italian Squad commanders hoped to persuade society of what they knew for that their fellow immigrant Italians, so often maligned, would make good American citizens.
In this explosive story, Moses carefully strips away the mythology that has always enveloped the Italian Squad and offers instead a nuanced portrait of brave but flawed men who fought the good fight for their people and their city.
The story begins in Sicily, on Friday, March 12, 1909, at 8:45 p.m. Three gunshots thundered in the night, and then a fourth. Two men fled, and investigators soon discovered who they had Giuseppe Petrosino, the legendary American detective whose exploits in New York were celebrated even in Italy.
The Italian Squad, by veteran New York City journalist and historian Paul Moses, explores the lives of the nationally celebrated detectives who followed in the slain Petrosino’s footsteps as leaders of the New York City investigative Anthony Vachris, Charles Corrao, and Michael Fiaschetti. Drawing on new primary sources such as private diaries and city, state, and federal documents, this dramatic narrative history follows the Italian Squad across the first two decades of the twentieth century as its detectives battled increasingly powerful gangsters, political obstacles and deeply ingrained prejudice against their own beloved Italian immigrant community.
Vachris, Corrao, and Fiaschetti became, like Petrosino, famous for meting out tough justice to criminals who comprised the “Black Hand.” Beyond trying to prevent horrific crimes―nighttime bombings in crowded tenements, kidnappings that targeted children at play, gangland shootings that killed innocent bystanders―the Italian Squad commanders hoped to persuade society of what they knew for that their fellow immigrant Italians, so often maligned, would make good American citizens.
In this explosive story, Moses carefully strips away the mythology that has always enveloped the Italian Squad and offers instead a nuanced portrait of brave but flawed men who fought the good fight for their people and their city.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published June 3, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 3, 2023
A very great history book of both the Italian police and Mafia
This is the first book I have read by Paul Moses and The Italian Mafia is about the immigrant Police who fight the Mafia. The book is the history starting with the shooting of Joseph Petrosino who was the first commander of the Italian Squad starting in 1904.
The book follows the lives of the Italian Squad, Mayors, the police commissioners, the criminals, and their victims.
Paul Moses goes into great detail about the life’s of the police who are mainly Irish immigrants instead of Italian. This means the police are hated by the black hand who are mainly Italian thugs or are related to other gangs or the mafia. The black hand goes around committing bombings, shooting, kidnapping and extortion against the police or local people who have businesses or are perceived to have money. Children are the biggest kidnapping cases in this book and some live and some do not. The police also come under scrutiny as they can be very heavy handed and many of them are corrupt.
Most of the stories in this book I have never heard of before, but the stories are well laid out flow nicely easy to read and are done in years starting in 1904-1909 then moving up every few years. A very nice touch which I found is that there are also plenty of photographs which I found great as I could relate better to the characters in this book. A very great history book of both the Italian police and Mafia and for true crime and history buffs a must read which I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt plenty from. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is the first book I have read by Paul Moses and The Italian Mafia is about the immigrant Police who fight the Mafia. The book is the history starting with the shooting of Joseph Petrosino who was the first commander of the Italian Squad starting in 1904.
The book follows the lives of the Italian Squad, Mayors, the police commissioners, the criminals, and their victims.
Paul Moses goes into great detail about the life’s of the police who are mainly Irish immigrants instead of Italian. This means the police are hated by the black hand who are mainly Italian thugs or are related to other gangs or the mafia. The black hand goes around committing bombings, shooting, kidnapping and extortion against the police or local people who have businesses or are perceived to have money. Children are the biggest kidnapping cases in this book and some live and some do not. The police also come under scrutiny as they can be very heavy handed and many of them are corrupt.
Most of the stories in this book I have never heard of before, but the stories are well laid out flow nicely easy to read and are done in years starting in 1904-1909 then moving up every few years. A very nice touch which I found is that there are also plenty of photographs which I found great as I could relate better to the characters in this book. A very great history book of both the Italian police and Mafia and for true crime and history buffs a must read which I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt plenty from. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 31, 2023
So many mafia stories are told from the point of view of the criminals. This book is different.
We're in the thick of it, right in the heart of New York City, but we're not running numbers or shaking down store owners - we're wearing the badge.
Initially I thought seeing things from the cops POV would put a damper on the excitement of a good mob yarn, but Vachris, Fiaschetti, and Corrao are as colorful as any gangster. And they've got the immigrant hustle in their blood, just like the wiseguys they're after. They care, deeply, about the neighborhoods they're protecting, about this new world they're building in the land of the free. And they've got a score to settle, revenge to serve cold for the leader they lost, Petrosino. All that makes for a gripping read.
It's also packed with lots of compelling smaller stories -- bombings, kidnappings, murders, undercover trips to Italy, tricking criminals into following them to the police station.
And all these old NY characters: a rich uptown Ivy League police chief with good intentions but ham-fisted execution, little concern for civil liberties, and a strange type of anti-semite, an opera star getting extorted, crooked politicians, crooked cops, reporters hyping up the drama, anarchists (apparently both anarchists and extortionists were fond of bombings back in the day).
Also, if you know anything about the mafia later in the 20th century, it's interesting to read about their ancestors and the beginnings of the five families.
We're in the thick of it, right in the heart of New York City, but we're not running numbers or shaking down store owners - we're wearing the badge.
Initially I thought seeing things from the cops POV would put a damper on the excitement of a good mob yarn, but Vachris, Fiaschetti, and Corrao are as colorful as any gangster. And they've got the immigrant hustle in their blood, just like the wiseguys they're after. They care, deeply, about the neighborhoods they're protecting, about this new world they're building in the land of the free. And they've got a score to settle, revenge to serve cold for the leader they lost, Petrosino. All that makes for a gripping read.
It's also packed with lots of compelling smaller stories -- bombings, kidnappings, murders, undercover trips to Italy, tricking criminals into following them to the police station.
And all these old NY characters: a rich uptown Ivy League police chief with good intentions but ham-fisted execution, little concern for civil liberties, and a strange type of anti-semite, an opera star getting extorted, crooked politicians, crooked cops, reporters hyping up the drama, anarchists (apparently both anarchists and extortionists were fond of bombings back in the day).
Also, if you know anything about the mafia later in the 20th century, it's interesting to read about their ancestors and the beginnings of the five families.
October 3, 2025
This book really picks up after Joseph Petrosino, killed in Palermo, Sicily. After his death, politics, like always, got into the mix of the squad, and the book goes into what happened to the final breakup of the squad, officers reassigned, and crime went back to the way it was. And from his death in 1909, by 192,2 the mob really had control of most of everything. His story, if you can read it, is fascinating and really worked at fighting the “Black Hand” as they were called in the late 1890s to the early 1900s. Overall, it's a good book and one that should be read if you like true crime.
December 19, 2025
A powerful and enlightening book. It honors the courage of these detectives while honestly examining their flaws and challenges. Highly recommended for readers interested in history, true crime, and immigrant stories.
July 26, 2023
The Italian Squad is a small part of NYPD history that has gone unnoticed for a long time. A very interesting and illustrative book.
August 14, 2023
Lowkey just background noise for me
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January 21, 2024Well researched, interesting perspective on policing in the early 1900's and the Black Hand.
May 2, 2023
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of THE ITALIAN SQUAD by Paul Moses in exchange for a review.
All opinions are my own!
3 and a half stars for The Italian Squad.
I was really excited about this book! It sounded immediately interesting and made me want to know more about how the designated Italian detectives unit of the NYPD became what’s now known as the NYPD bomb squad.
It does a great job of giving you an interesting history and spans the entire short existence of the unit, but for me it went a little too into the political world of early 1900s New York City. I understand why, because politics played a huge part in why the squad was broken up and divided several times, their work completely ignored in favor of more politically “appealing” crime; but it just wasn’t what I was expecting as deep as it went into it. Paul Moses also does a great job of giving you the entire story from both sides, while still holding sympathy for the ones affected by the crimes pushed aside.
If you want an interesting history and view of the NYPD, I’d definitely recommend this book! For me, I just wasn’t prepared for the tone of the book, and how deep it went into the political world, which is why it’s 3 and a half stars!
All opinions are my own!
3 and a half stars for The Italian Squad.
I was really excited about this book! It sounded immediately interesting and made me want to know more about how the designated Italian detectives unit of the NYPD became what’s now known as the NYPD bomb squad.
It does a great job of giving you an interesting history and spans the entire short existence of the unit, but for me it went a little too into the political world of early 1900s New York City. I understand why, because politics played a huge part in why the squad was broken up and divided several times, their work completely ignored in favor of more politically “appealing” crime; but it just wasn’t what I was expecting as deep as it went into it. Paul Moses also does a great job of giving you the entire story from both sides, while still holding sympathy for the ones affected by the crimes pushed aside.
If you want an interesting history and view of the NYPD, I’d definitely recommend this book! For me, I just wasn’t prepared for the tone of the book, and how deep it went into the political world, which is why it’s 3 and a half stars!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews