WASHINGTON | June 30, 2011 ~ Luca Scognamillo, the Italian National Police Liaison at the Embassy of Italy, was the keynote speaker at the 51st Annual Ceremony commemorating Charles J. Bonaparte, the 46th Attorney General of the United States and founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The ceremony was held at the United States Department of Justice and organized by Francesco Isgro, Senior Litigation Counsel at the Justice Department. The commemoration was instituted in 1961 by John N. LaCorte, founder of the Italian Historical Society of America. The tradition has been kept alive with the sponsorship of the Department of Justice and the Friends of Charles J. Bonaparte.

In his remarks, Scognamillo spoke about the "special and deeply rooted collaboration" between the FBI and the Italian national police, including last year's joint efforts which led to the arrest of many organized crime figures in Miami, New York and Palermo.

"Finding new tools that improve our capability to share information and improve our collaboration is perhaps the best way to honor the memory of Charles Bonaparte," he added.  However, Scognamillo underscored that "the global nature andsophisticated operations of these criminal organizations make the cooperation between our law enforcement agencies that much more critical and complex. The constant flow of information sharing between the FBI and Italian National Police plays a vital role in uncovering the very initial signals of infiltration of this phenomenon."

John Di Cicco, acting head of the Tax Division, welcomed  the invited guests on behalf of the Department of Justice and recalled how important it was to continue this tradition of honoring Bonaparte and recalling his contributions in reforming the civil service system.

John J. LaCorte, the current Executive Director of the Italian Historical Society, also welcomed the guests and introduced Tony De Nonno, a New York film producer who presented his recently completed documentary onthe "monumental" life of John N. LaCorte, the Society's founder, who died in 1991.

The film related the life story and many accomplishments of John N. LaCorte, including his successful efforts in the naming of  the  Verrazano Bridge in New York, and the establishment of Columbus Day as a national holiday. Although John N. LaCorte was born in the United States, he returned to Sicily with his parents and grew up there. At age 19, he came back to the States with 17 cents to his name. He had a long career in the insurance business before running his own agency.

At the ceremony, Father Lydio Tomasi, Pastor of Holy Rosary Church, the National Italian Parish in Washington D.C., delivered the invocation and, in keeping with tradition, Nina Di Gregorio, President of the Italian Opera Company, and Benjamin Togati  opened the ceremony with the singing of the national anthems of the United States and Italy.

(Pictured from top: John Di Cicco; Luca Scognamillo and Francesco Isgro; Tony De Nonno; Luca Scognamillo, Francesco Isgro, John DiCicco; Ben Togati and Nina DiGregorio ~ Photos by Anthony Williams and USDOJ)

01.08.2011 | CiaoAmerica.net |

Last updated: 02.07.2011