Excerpt from Sensational Vancouver
When I write a history book there’s always one character that really captures my attention. In At Home with History it was Alvo von Alvensleben. In Sensational Victoria it was Spoony Sundher, and in Sensational Vancouver, it’s Vancouver City Police Detective Joe Ricci—a kick-arse cop from the old school. I got to know Joe really well through his daughter who lives in the home he built in 1922, through the boxes of newspaper clippings, letters and photos that she saved, and from the testimony he gave at the Lennie Commission—one of the many inquiries into police corruption that took place last century.
Joe was the first Italian to join the force. He was hired in 1912 because of his contacts within the close knit Italian community, his knowledge of the Black Hand (a sort of early version of the Mafia) and his ability, often with his partner Donald Sinclair, to bring in the bad guys. Ricci and Sinclair were on the scene at the 1917 shoot-out in Strathcona when Police Chief Malcolm Maclennan was murdered with a shotgun blast to the face.
Those were the days when police didn’t worry too much about procedure, warrants and other legal niceties. In fact, more often than not Ricci and Sinclair took to opium dens with axes, fired their service weapons at fleeing bad guys and brought in the evidence – whether it was illegal stills during Prohibition or millions of dollars worth of drugs squirreled away in the secret compartments of buildings.
A few years after he left the police force, Joe opened up a club right next door to the station. Everyone was welcome from Joe Celona, King of the bawdy houses to Angelo Branca Supreme Court judge to Jack Webster, reporter, as well as any cop who wanted a drink. He told a newspaper reporter at the time that he no longer had any interest in chasing bad guys. “I’ve had a bellyful of police work and criminals,” he said. “The crooks are too dumb today to make it worthwhile.”
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6 comments on “Joe Ricci’s Vancouver”
He was the detective that was on the case when my Great Grandfather, Angelo Teti was murdered in Vancouver.. Also the man who shot my great grandfather, was one of the only 3 men to escape the BC Penitentiary.. And was a long time friend of my mother’s family …
That’s absolutely fascinating! Must have been one of Joe’s first cases. Was his murderer caught after he escaped jail?
Yes, the person who murdered Angelo Teti – Mario Montenaro – was immediately apprehended by officers who heard the shots and ran into the building of H. Mackinnon & Co located at Main and Georgia Street. He was convicted and initially sentenced to hang but later commuted to life in prison. He escaped from prison in July 1919 and was never recaptured.
As Montenaro did not speak english, Joe Ricci was the one that translated for him in court. He was not actually the one that caught Montenaro.
[…] of my favourite characters in Sensational Vancouver is Detective Joe Ricci who joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1912. Joe was a kick-arse cop from the old school who […]
Found a newspaper article of Joe Ricci and Sinclair raiding my great grandfather Leone’s home at 507 Prior Street busting him for being in possession of alcohol
[…] Joe Ricci’s Vancouver […]