The Capo in Brooklyn

Here are some incidents from my brother’s career as a sergeant in Brooklyn’s 90th Precinct during which he became known as the Capo.

On his beat was Peter Luger’s Steakhouse, a favorite eating place for celebrities. 


Mayor Koch had his own security detail of two detectives. The Patrol Borough which was upstairs in the precinct would get a call, “the Eagle would be at Lugers around 7 pm, no uniform cops”. As the anti-crime supervisor I would be notified to give this special attention. When Mayor Koch pulled up, I was talking to the doorman. As he walked by, he said, “I thought I said no cops.” I replied being in plainclothes, “I don’t see any cops.” He smiled and said thank you.

Now with Elizabeth Taylor, I only saw her as she was the Diva, i.e., front round table with a rose, she was the Queen of Hollywood.

John Lennon did not have any cash and as Luger did not accept credit cards, he was issued an instant credit card and wrote on application, international drug dealer. Although I didn’t drink, I was sitting at the long bar, with Charlie the bartender having been informed that John Lennon was inside. Maybe, I should have told him to retract that line, “the Beatles are more famous than Jesus”.

Peter Luger Steakhouse

My father used to make store deliveries to the new Waste Management center in the industrial section of the precinct. One day he jumped a red light and was pulled over by a marked patrol car. Before he gave the officer his identification, he told him that his son was a Sergeant in the precinct. The officer replied, “your son is the Capo, please don’t tell him I stopped you.” He truly made my Father’s Day.

There was a famous street in the precinct named Graham Avenue. South of Metropolitan Ave. It was called the Avenue of Puerto Rico, and north it was the Via Vespucci. Actually you thought you were in Puerto Rico with the stores and Hispanic music in the south side. In the north was a stronghold of Italians who had not left the neighborhood for Nassau County. One day I went into a pizza parlor, and the owner could not believe that there was an Italian Sergeant in the precinct.

Later his 6-year-old son would fall off his bike and break his arm, and me and my chauffeur took him and his mother directly to the hospital.The father and son never forgot and many years later I would coach his son in baseball at McClancy high school. I would always be their Capo.

There is a procedure when you place a female in a police vehicle that you have to notify Central, of female in/ out of car and give the times. One winter night it was cold and snowy, and I spotted a female with two young children at a bus stop. I asked her where she was going and then put them in the back of the unmarked police car. I advised Central that we had a female and 2 to a certain location. Upon arrival I once again advised Central, 90 Anti-crime supervisor “female and two out of car.” Well somebody in our division of 5 precincts keyed the radio and said, “way to go, Capo”.

I was now to be known as the Capo for my next 7 years in the 90th. The name would follow me when I was to be assigned to the Narcotic Division until I retired 7 years later.

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Note, when assigned to Anti-crime you wear your shield around your neck on a chain for identification purposes.

90th Precinct

It would be in the 90th precinct that I would become a legend: Da Capo. But first I had to cut my teeth. Could I become an effective leader?

Unlike the 30th, the 90th was more like a pie, with the Hasidic Jews comprising about 40-50% of the population, the remaining 50% were mostly Hispanics, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, and then Blacks. When I had begun in the 30th I knew very little about Blacks, and now in the 90th I knew nothing about the Hasidics. My first commanding officer told me that they are very politically connected with the Mayor’s office and vote as a 50,000 block. With a wink of the eye he said treat all equally but some more equal, and you will survive.

Now I was assigned to the 6th squad and informed by a mentoring sergeant that I had inherited a group of malcontents and cynical Police officers, who by the way were mostly of Italian ancestry. I was soon to be tested as they decided to go on a summons strike. I held a meeting and asked whose idea this was? They said they were doing it on their own. I told them that they were to do exactly what other squads were doing, no more no less. Message sent. I have to say that these guys went from #8 to #1 in the precinct. It didn’t take long for the Precinct C.O. to take notice and he assigned me to the role as the Anti-Crime supervisor. I was not only to be in this assignment for four years but also I was re-upped for 7 years until I would be transferred to the Narcotics Division.

In the 90th Precinct most crime occurred around the overhead Broadway train lines. There were numerous robberies and gold chain and pocketbook snatches. I supervised two platoons of police officers, a 10x6 and a 6x2am tours. Well, there was one station at Broadway and Flushing Ave that was getting hit very hard. I devised a plan where I would combine my two platoons into one for a week. Well it was like Midway, where we kept making arrests one after the other as we now had sufficient manpower. Crime decreased. I guess the bad guys got the message that there was a new sheriff in town.

The Anti-crime supervisor and the anti-crime units were so effective in reducing crime and recovering weapons that the mayor and other politicians would later disband them for being too good. What a joke! But this would happen after my retirement.

I really don’t know where I got the innovative ideas, more to come, but I always credited the Brothers at my High School, Monsignor McClancy, with my succesS.

Most of my 6th squad members would eventually join me in the Anti-Crime unit or the Detective Division. I don’t want to blow my own horn, but at later retirement parties these officers would thank me for giving them the opportunity. As one later Chief would say, “in the police department there are many chiefs but only one Capo”.

Note, besides being assigned in unmarked cars and street clothes most males would grow the Anti-Crime beard, even the Capo. In my last 14 years I very rarely wore my uniform.

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IMAGE NOTE:To the right of the flag pole is the entrance of the Precinct, to the left is the firehouse.The top floor had the Borough command which supervised all the precincts in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, and also the precinct Detective division. Address 211 Union Ave.

Around the corner was E 8 truck, the emergency services division.

Capo

Soon after I made Sergeant, the precinct Commanding Officer took notice of my work ethic. He promoted me to the prestigious post of Anti crime Supervisor. In this capacity I would supervise two shifts of plainclothes officers who were assigned to address serious crimes; ie, Robbery, gun possession and burglary. Soon after I got this assignment I got a 10-2 (report to command) this was not usually good. What had I or one of my officers done? Well this was different as there was a contingent of Hasidic men talking to the boss. It seems that their mother had her purse snatched and some one had called her and said they had the purse. They thought this was a trap. Since I had grown the Anti crime beard, they wanted me to dress up black hat and long coat and recover the purse. Well we arranged for the exchange and everything went ok, as an elderly Puerto Rican family was the ones who had called. We got the purse and gave them a few bucks. All of a sudden, one of my Italian officers said, “Hey Capo, can we go now”. No sooner had he said that, the elderly mother, who was a Holocaust survivor snapped to attention and with her head bowed said, “German Nazi, where is he”. She was frozen as she had a flash back to Auschwitz, one of her sons told her, ”no mom he is the good Kapo, who takes care of the community. The name Capo stayed with me for the rest of my career.

In1986 I was transferred to the Brooklyn South Narcotics Division. About a year later one of my lieutenants in the 90th precinct was now a Deputy inspector and assigned to our unit. After about a month, he had a meeting and commented on our work performance. However, he then said he had a gripe in that he thought that the use of nicknames was unprofessional. Turning to me he said isn’t that right Sgt. Capo. Well all the bosses and investigators started to snicker and laugh. Again he looked at me and said what’s up, I respectfully said Sir, my name is Sgt. DeStefano not Sgt. Capo. He lowered his head and turned around and simply said carry on. He called me into his office and I had to explain how I became the Capo. He laughed and said all these years I thought you were Sgt Capo. 

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