The biography of Joe Petrosino
Joe Petrosino was born in Padula, a province of Salerno, the 30th of August 1860. His father Prospero, who was a tailor, lived a decent life in the little city centre of the Campania region. He got married twice and had six children, one of with was Giuseppe, called Joe, who was his firstborn. In 1873 the whole family migrated to America, where his father, once settled in New York, continued to work as a tailor.
In the american land Joe juggled different jobs, at one time he olso tried being a shoeshine. During his childhood he got to know better the environment he lived in and learnt the custom of this new place. He learnt English very quickly, unlike other italians he knew who had to take evening classes in order to learn it. He managed to find his place in the american society thanks to his will and initiative. A rare and unique case of social integration of an italian immigrant between the XIX and the beginnings of the XX century. He dreamt of becoming part of the police force, a dream he managed to achieve thanks to his perseverance and also a little bit of luck.