In September 1904, NYPD Police Commissioner William McAdoo was conscience of a growing crime rate in the Italian sections of New York City. The vast amount of crime directed towards the Italian residents of the city came from within their own communities.

The Italian criminal element was well organized into gangs. The most dangerous were the Black Hand who resorted to violent and brutal tactics such as extortion, assault, kidnapping, bombing and murder.

Detective Sergeant Joseph Petrosino was one of the few Italian-American Detectives in the NYPD. Commissioner McAdoo authorized Petrosino to form an "Italian Squad" from the ranks of the department. These Italian speaking policemen were tasked to target the dangerous Italian criminal element that existed in New York City.

This book tells the true stories of the seventy one NYPD policemen who served in Joseph Petrosino's Italian Squad throughout the few years it existed. For the most part, the stories of these policemen have remained long forgotten to history until now.