Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Rest in peace always and know that no passage of time can ever erase your service and sacrifice.

Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police (Retired)

September 19, 2020

Special Agent Finiello, rest in peace.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

September 18, 2020

Agent Finiello, today marks the 85th anniversary of your sacrifice. I wish to thank you for your service. You did a job few had the gut to do and of course there were some who took the job to profit by it. By the accounts I read here, you were in it for the right reasons and were a truly honorable man.

It is beautiful to see that your family has not only remembered you, but posted reflections here so that we who visit can get to know the man behind the page better. They are doing exactly what I pray each family does when they lose someone dear, keep that person in their hearts and minds so that they are never truly gone. Your family has done that and God Bless them for it.

And God Bless you as well, Brother, may your eternal rest be ever peaceful.

Ptl. Jim Leahy, Jr.
Harvard University Police Dept.

September 19, 2015

We miss my maternal Grandmother's brother, Agent John Finiello, and think of him often. Growing up in the 1970s, we always heard tales of the 'G-men' and the tough jobs they had, and we knew that we had a relative who was a'"G-man' in what we kids thought was our distant past. It wasn't until we became adults that the full story of his heroism, bravery, and forthrightness hit home. While rummaging through Grandma's attic in the 80's, we found a newspaper article that reported the raid in which our great-uncle was killed. His sacrifice made front-page news, and that was the first time that it dawned on us that we had a authentic hero in our lineage. We were especially proud of him when a journalist from the NY Daily News honored him with a beautiful and respectful article in 2003. I have since found out that my great-uncle's heroism is detailed in a book with the unfortunate and grisly title, "Murdered in Jersey." My sister, Agent Finiello's great-niece, has also uncovered the wanted posters for the men suspected of killing this great man. I don't recall Grandma Anna [Finiello] Mongelli speaking often of her murdered brother. When she did, she spoke respectfully and kindly of the man. Here's to you, John. God bless you and God bless everyone in the family who reveres your sacrifice and your memory. We keep you in our hearts.

W.D. Mongelli
Great-nephew

June 13, 2014

Agent Finiello was the brother of my maternal grandmother. As a boy, we'd visit his brother Jim and wife Kay. I only discovered about his heroism in a newspaper article I found in Grandma's attic in the mid-1980s.

Here are some other sites provided by my sister which may be of interest to those who are related to and admire this brave, honorable man:

Excerpt from "Murdered in Jersey":

W.D. Mongelli
Great nephew

June 11, 2014

I am the grandson of Nicola Finiello and my grandfather would tell me about Agent John G. Finiello many times. His honesty and bravery were legendary. I wish someone would advise me as to how my grandfather was related to John.

Philip J. Finiello
Nicola Finiello's grandson

February 9, 2013

Your heroism and service is honored today, the 82nd anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer who was murdered in the the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Time never diminishes respect. Your memory will always be honored and revered.

Rest In Peace.

Phyllis Loya
Mom of fallen California Officer Larry Lasater, Pittsburg PD, eow 4/24/05

September 19, 2012

For Agent John G. Finiello:

The task of enforcing the liquor laws during prohibition truly was not a coveted position. It was an unpopular law and violated even by some in law enforcement itself. But it was the law. And it had to be enforced.

Noble and proud men, like John Finiello, took-up the badge and armed himself to enforce this law. Popular or not. It takes a man to do a job that is both unpopular and almost impossible. John Finiello was that man among many like him.

That he would die enforcing the law makes him a hero. He stood for law and he stood for justice. That is all that matters. Popularity all to be damned. Ridiculous law, perhaps, but legislation is the answer. Not the slaying of law officers.

John Finiello's death is a stain on the collar of all who took a drink during the prohibition. The drink that anyone of might have lifted to his lips was made possible by the individual who shot down John Finiello. Reason if you will, but it is true.

John Finiello surely was not ignorant of this mind-set. He might even have harbored a basic thought that the prohibition might not endure. He was, by all accounts, simply doing a job. Doing what he was paid to do. For this we owe him a debt of gratitude far deeper than any thoughts about whether prohibition was right or wrong.

To him I render a final salute.

Cpl. Ralph D. Fiorenza (Ret.)
Pennsylvania State Police

March 7, 2009

MY BROTHER, MAY GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE. A HERO FOR SURE. MAY YOU REST IN PEACE.

CHIEF RONNIE WATFORD-RET.
JEFFERSON POLICE DEPT,S.C.

July 10, 2007

Rest in peace, Sir! You are not forgotten.

Police Officer

May 5, 2006

I have been told about John G. Finiello.
I was told of his wonderful heritage and history of his family.
All I had heard about this man made me proud of the people who had his life story inside them.

I heard about his bravery and the love he had for his family.

Although I carry the last name of Finiello; it is not by birth.

I carry it with pride, regardless.

Special Agent Finiello had to be a wonderful man. He left a legacy for people who I feel truly loved him.
If they'd didn't; I would have never been told of his life.



I am proud of my last name and

Dorothy Q. Rates-Finiello
former granddaughter-in-law

June 8, 2004

The policeman stood and faced his God,which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, policeman. How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To my church have you been true?
The policeman squared his shoulders and said.
"No, I guess I ain't because those of us who carry a badge can't always be a Saint."
I've had to work most Sundays
and at times my talk is rough,
and sometimes I've been violent,
because the streets are awfully tough.
But I never took a penny that wasn't mine to keep...
though I worked a lot of overtime when the bills got to steep.
And I never passed a cry for help
though at times I shook with fear,
and sometimes, God forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place among the people here.
They never wanted me around except to calm their fear.
If you've a place for me here, Lord, it needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much, but if you don't...I'll understand"
There was a silence all around the throne where the Saints had often trod.
As the policeman waited quietly for the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, policeman.
You've borne you burdens well.
Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets.
You've done your time in Hell"

G. Houston
South Carolina

September 19, 2003