Taltys book follows joe petrosino, a courageous nypd cop who unflinchingly went after a ruthless gang that came out of italy and into america whose calling card was a black hand which. The thugs with the calling card black hand migrated from italy to america. Jefferson siegelnew york daily news he was killed in an ambush outside a palermo cafe on march 12 after. The bravados classic western, full movie, gregory peck. Stephan taltys book the black hand focuses on joseph petrosino, the first italian police detective sergeant in the u. A new mafia movie starring leonardo dicaprio called the black hand is in the works according to the latest reports. Joe petrosino and the black hand from gangland wire on. He was shot and killed by snipers on the evening of march 12, 1909 while waiting for an informant at the garibaldi statue in downtown palermo at piazza marina. The true story about the origins of the mafia in america follows joe petrosino nicknamed the italian sherlock holmes an nypd cop who goes after the ruthless gang in the early 1900s. Before the mafia captured the american crime spotlight in the 1920s, there was the society of the black hand, which made ends meet by terrorizing and. Leonardo dicaprio to battle the mafia in the black hand. Carrol naish in the black hand 1950, starring gene kelly, is modeled on petrosino. A reallife untouchables tale stephan talty provides a thrilling history of. In 1903, petrosino arrested him on suspicion of murder, but cascio ferro was acquitted.
Petrosino as a man of great integrity, took on the scourge of the. Petrosino s investigations into mafia activities led him to vito cascio ferro, then a low ranking black hand affiliate. Taltys book follows joe petrosino, a courageous nypd cop who unflinchingly went after a ruthless gang that came out of italy and into america whose calling card was a black hand which kidnapped. With his italian squad of nypd cops, petrosino fought back against the society and their ruthless tactics of extortion, black mail and bombings that. Set in the early 1900s, joe petrosino, a nypd cop, goes after a ruthless gang with the calling card black hand that migrated from italy to america.
More recently, leonardo dicaprio will be playing joseph petrosino in his new movie, the black hand, based on a book by stephan talty. He was shot and killed by snipers on the evening of march 12, 1909. The epic war between a brilliant detective and the deadliest secret society in american history kindle edition by talty, stephan. In 2017, paramount announced that it has acquired the movie rights for an english language adaptation. His hero is joseph petrosino, one of the first italianamericans hired by the new york police department, who ultimately sacrificed his life in an effort to defeat the black hand, an italian organized crime group that terrorized the city through its kidnappings of.
Leo dicaprio will star in movie about mob cop joe petrosino. Jan 31, 2017 leonardo dicaprio will star in and produce an adaptation of stephan taltys book the black hand for paramount pictures. Black hand is a 1950 american film noir directed by richard thorpe and starring gene kelly as an italian immigrant fighting against the black hand extortion racket in new york city in the first decade of the 20th century. Leonardo dicaprio has signed on to produce and to star in an adaptation of the black hand, an upcoming truecrime history book, for paramount pictures. Originally developed in the eighteenth century, the black hand extortion came to the united states in the later nineteenth century with immigrants. S, and his obsession with bringing down a deadly secret society of italian criminalsthe black hand. British novelist frederick nolan has written two novels based on petrosinos career with the nypd. He gave his life but left behind a legacy and footprint for others to follow. After the turn of the century, petrosino spent more time pursuing black hand extortionists than any other type of criminals. The inspiring rise and tragic fall of the italian sherlock holmes the. Joseph petrosino, the tough italian policeman who headed the squad, gave his views on the black hand criminals. History the roots of the black hand can be traced to sicily and throughout the rest of kingdom of naples as early as the 1750s. The black hand is the true story about the origins of the mafia in america follows joe petrosino nicknamed the italian sherlock holmes an nypd cop who goes after the ruthless gang in the early 1900s.
Black hand, any of several extortion rackets run by immigrant sicilian and italian gangsters in the italian communities of new york city, chicago, new orleans, kansas city, and other u. Set in the early 1900s, the story follows detective joseph petrosino, a famed nypd officer who squared off against the black hand, a ruthless gang that kidnapped the children of immigrants and. A feature adaptation of stephan taltys book the black hand. May 12, 2017 the film is being adapting from the black hand, stephan taltys book about petrosino. Feb 03, 2017 the black hand is in development starring leonardo dicaprio. Hardworking store keepers are threatened with torture, death and destruction if they dont come across with protection money. Petrosino was murdered in 1909 in palermo, italy, where he had gone to gather intelligence about black hand members. As the crimes grew ever more bizarre and the black hand s activities spread far beyond new yorks borders, petrosino and the allitalian police squad he assembled raced to capture members of. Photos add image add an image do you have any images for this title. Actor and producer leonardo dicaprio bought the movie rights to a book about petrosino, the black hand.
Joseph petrosino, far right, a detective dubbed the italian sherlock holmes, leads a black hand suspect to court. Police officer joe petrosino seeks justice against a ruthless italianamerican gang in new york. Ferro later returned to sicily, where he progressed increasingly to the top rank of the sicilian mafia. Unfolding a story rich with resonance in our own era, the black hand is fastpaced narrative history at its very best. The black hand the epic war between a brilliant detective and the deadliest secret society in american history by stephen talty the black hand is the symbol of fear which spread across new york and pennsylvania at the turn of the century.
The movie an adaptation of stephan taltys book will tell the story of an nypd cop named joe petrosino who back in the 1900s squared off against the deadliest secret society in american history. Leonardo is playing the character of joseph petrosino, a selfmade cop taking. A reallife untouchables tale stephan talty provides a thrilling history of the epic war between a brilliant detective and the. Oct 29, 2015 in the course of his career, petrosino would go from street sweeper to nypd lieutenant only to be cut down by assassins bullets on the streets of palermo.
He will be starring and producing the movie which is based on a book written by stephen talty published on 25 april 2017 with the same title. May 08, 2017 the black hand, an organization that will morph into the american mafia. In new york, the bulwark against black hand was extraordinarily thin, but also very tough. So dicaprios going to play a guy dubbed the italian sherlock holmes and. Please leave feedback if you watched the black hand. There were other law enforcement officials assassinated by the black hand, but petrosino was, by far, the most famous probably because of his doggedness. The black hand movie, the black hand trailer, release date. Leonardo dicaprio is all set to dazzle the audience with his upcoming movie the black hand. Hes a legend amongst all police officers and certainly a.
I remember hearing about the black hand when a movie came out by that name and author stephan talty has written a book about the organization that held my interest throughout. Leonardo dicaprio lines up first postoscar acting project. Petrosinos exploits, leadership, arrests and investigations in his 2017 book, the black hand. The epic war between a brilliant detective and the deadliest secret society in american history is a nonfiction book written by irish american author stephan talty, published by houghton mifflin harcourt on 25 april 2017. The movie, called the black hand, is based on the book by stephan talty. Check out paul winickis antiques roadshow appraisal of this petrosino nypd archive, ca. Black hand american criminal organization britannica. It isnt clear why black hand turns joseph petrosino into louis lorelli, but names aside, naish makes the benevolent cop into a warm and sympathetic character. Everything you need to know about the black hand movie. The thugs kidnap people and then extort money from their families.
Carrol naish plays the heroic italianamerican lieutenants character. Joseph petrosino was killed in sicily on march 1909 while on an. Inside the black hand crime wave a century ago stephan taltys the black hand tells the story of the black hand crime wave that gripped new york city in the early 1900s and the one policeman who. Before the mafia, there was the terrifying black hand. The movie will be produced through the gotham group and. The epic war between a brilliant detective and the deadliest secret society in. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the black hand.
Police officer, joe petrosino, seeks justice against a ruthless italianamerican gang in new york. His book, the black hand, has been optioned to be made into a film starring leonardo dicaprio. Petrosino park joe petrosino was the first cop to investigate the mob in the united states. More than 100 years after the death of an undercover nypd detective, his. Storyline the true story about the origins of the mafia in america follows joe petrosino nicknamed the italian sherlock holmes an nypd cop who goes after the ruthless gang in the early 1900s. Leonardo dicaprio to star in movie about hero mafia. Leonardo dicaprio will star in and produce an adaptation of stephan taltys book the black hand for paramount pictures. Set in the early 1900s, joe petrosino, a nypd cop, goes after a ruthless gang with the calling card black hand that migrated from italy to. Leonardo dicaprio starring the black hand is in making. The black hand was modeled on the reallife story of joseph petrosino, a new york city police lieutenant who traveled to palermo, italy, to investigate the mafia. Joseph petrosino, a dedicated public servant who made the ultimate sacrifice working to make our world a better place.
Apr 23, 2017 before the mafia captured the american crime spotlight in the 1920s, there was the society of the black hand, which made ends meet by terrorizing and extorting fellow italians, mainly, among them. He was shot and killed by snipers on the evening of march 12, 1909 while waiting for an informant at the. The black hand is sad to say an unhappy reminder of what they left. The film is being adapted from author stephan taltys book about petrosino, the black hand.
Joseph petrosino and the black hand with stephen talty. Joseph petrosino was given command of the new italian squad established specifically to address the black hand menace. Apr 25, 2017 stephan taltys book the black hand focuses on joseph petrosino, the first italian police detective sergeant in the u. History the roots of the black hand can be traced to sicily and throughout the rest of kingdom of. Leonardo dicaprio to battle the mafia in the black hand movie. Stephan taltys the black hand is a cinematic look at petrosino and the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. However, the term as normally used in english specifically refers to the. Joseph petrosino ernest borgnine forms a special squard to combat the menacing black hand in new york city in this tough and convincing drama based on actual events. Leonardo dicaprio to star in movie about hero mafiafighting. Author interview stephan talty, author of the black hand. In the course of his career, petrosino would go from street sweeper to nypd lieutenant only to be cut down by assassins bullets on the streets of palermo.
The thugs with the calling card black hand migrated from italy to america, and kidnapped people to extort money from their families. The movie will be produced through the gotham group and dicaprios appian way. Steven taltry has written a thrilling account of petrosino and his investigation into petrosino and his italian squad the black hand, an organization that will morph into the american mafia. Italianamerican cop joe petrosino infiltrates the mafia in turn of the 20th century new york. Leonardo dicaprio lines up first postoscar acting project, the black hand. There is only one thing that can wipe out the black hand, and that is the elimination of ignorance. Petrosino s quest to root out the source of the black hand s power would take him all the way to sicily but at a terrible cost. One single italian, joseph petrosino, doggedly pursued the order of secret criminal society. May 12, 2017 leonardo dicaprio to star in movie about hero mafiafighting nypd detective killed in italy 108 years ago the movie, called the black hand, is based on the book by stephan talty. Jan 31, 2017 as the crimes grew ever more bizarre and the black hands activities spread far beyond new yorks borders, petrosino and the allitalian police squad he assembled raced to capture members of.
One notable case in petrosinos stint with the italian squad involved the italian tenor enrico caruso. Leonardo dicaprio will take on the role of giuseppe joseph petrosino in the adaptation of the book the black hand. The black hand release date, cast, trailer premiere. The true story about the origins of the mafia in america. Hes an important character, too, rivaling johnny for screen time even though johnny is. From 1905, petrosino and the italian branch, an elite corps of italianamerican undercover cops, arrested thousand of members of the black hand, deported 500 and reduced crime against italianamericans by half. May, 2017 leo dicaprio will star in movie about mob cop joe petrosino by rebecca fishbein may, 2017 1. Francis ford coppolas the godfather is my most favorite movie ever. He notably worked to bust the italian black hand gang, hence the name of the book. Joe petrosino was able to penetrate the secrets of the american mafia because he spoke sicilian and had many friends and relationships with sicilian immigrants. Apr 29, 2017 inside the black hand crime wave a century ago stephan taltys the black hand tells the story of the black hand crime wave that gripped new york city in the early 1900s and the one policeman who. Leonardo dicaprio star in, produce the black hand variety. The black hand is based on the reallife story of joseph petrosino, a new york city police lieutenant who traveled to palermo, italy, to investigate the mafia. As the crimes grew ever more bizarre and the black hand s activities spread far beyond new yorks borders, petrosino and the allitalian police squad he.
Paramount pictures has acquired the stephan talty book the black hand for leonardo dicaprio to star in. As the crimes grew ever more bizarre and the black hands activities spread far beyond new yorks borders, petrosino and the allitalian police squad he assembled raced to capture members of. And i think the movie coming out will have an impact on that and show people that. Leonardo dicaprio to star in movie about hero mafiafighting nypd detective killed in italy 108 years ago the movie, called the black hand, is based on the book by stephan talty. It consisted of sending threatening notes to local merchants and other. Leonardo dicaprios production company making film about nypd. Paramount acquires black hand for leonardo dicaprio to star. Petrosino would ultimately be assassinated by the organization. Mafia movies are fabulous and this one sounds to me like it will be a hit. It was a method of extortion, not a criminal organization as such, though gangsters of camorra and the mafia practiced it. Leonardo dicaprios production company making film about.