Oral history interview with Ralph Salerno, 1982

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Name: Salerno, Ralph (Interviewee); Courtwright, David T., 1952- (Interviewer); Joseph, Herman, 1931- (Interviewer); Des Jarlais, Don, 1945- (Interviewer)
Title: Oral history interview with Ralph Salerno, 1982
Other Titles: Reminiscences of Ralph Salerno, 1982; Oral history of Ralph Salerno, 1982
Abstract: In this interview, Ralph Salerno discusses his thirty-six year career in law enforcement, twenty years of which he spent at the New York City Police Department. He discusses his decision to become a police officer, and how his recruitment onto the force landed him in a unit that was investigating the murder of Joseph Scottoriggio, initiating his specialization in organized crime. He discusses being made a detective in 1950. Salerno describes tactics of investigation such as electronic and physical surveillance. He explains the many routes through which heroin and opium entered the United States, including through Canada, South America, and Vietnam. He discusses the impact of the Narcotic Control Act of 1956 on New York drug trafficking. He details an investigation he did in the 1960s into the Gallo-Profaci gang war. Salerno discusses his 1969 book "The Crime Confederation: Cosa Nostra and Allied Operations in Organized Crime." He describes how control of the New York City narcotics trade transitioned from mainly Jewish crime syndicates to mainly Italian crime syndicates between 1930 and 1960. Salerno describes the corruption he perceived was growing in the police force, and how it was a contributing factor in his decision to retire at forty-one years old. Salerno discusses what he believes the future of narcotic policy will be in the future in the United States
Collection Name: Addicts Who Survived oral history collection
Subjects: Mafia--United States; Organized crime--History--20th century.--United States; Jewish criminals--New York (State); Drug dealers--United States; Drug traffic--History--20th century.--United States; Drug control--History--20th century.--United States; Police corruption--New York (State); Salerno, Ralph; New York (N.Y.) Police Department History
Format: oral histories
Genre: Interviews
Date: 1982

Physical Description: 100 pages
Note (Biographical): Ralph Salerno was born to Italian immigrants on August 24, 1925 in the Bronx, New York. He graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, and went on to serve in the Navy from 1943 to 1945. Salerno joined the New York City Police Departme nt (NYPD) in September of 1946. Throughout his twenty year career with the NYPD he worked as both an officer and a detective, and specialized in the investigation of organized crime. He is the author of the 1969 book "The Crime Confederation: Cosa Nostra and Allied Operations in Organized Crime." Ralph Salerno was interviewed for the project that led to the book "Addicts Who Survived"
Note: Interviewed by Herman Joseph, David Courtwright, and Don Des Jarlais on December 10, December 12, and December 17, 1982
Note (Provenance): David Courtwright, Herman Joseph, and Don Des Jarlais, Gift, 1988
Language: English
Library Location: Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
Catalog Record: 11871289
Persistent URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-t4zk-ha26
Related URLs: Available digital content for this interview.