To the Italian-American community of Eastern Pennsylvania, including those in the Panther Valley and Schuylkill County, former Philadelphia Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo was the embodiment of saint and sinner.

The placement of a statue of him in 1998 at the front of the Philadelphia Municipal Services Building was controversial from Day 1. That controversy is front and center again after the statue was vandalized three times during the past 10 days by protesters demanding its removal.Current Mayor Jim Kenney said he has never been a big fan of the statue, but he condemned the vandals, saying, "Vandalism in any situation is a terrible thing." He said he is open to discussing the statue's removal, but said there has to be an orderly process to do it. Kenney wants a public discussion in front of city council.The statue can't be removed or relocated without a formal proposal from the mayor's office, and any action must be approved by the Philadelphia Art Commission. The city owns the statue, presented as a gift by the Frank L. Rizzo Memorial Committee made up of family members, friends and supporters. The 10-foot high bronze statue is the work of Zenos Frudakis, a renowned artist famous for his sculptures of well-known major historical and cultural figures.Rizzo's legacy is a complicated one - adored on one hand by law-and-order proponents and reviled on the other by those who protested his head-busting ways and intemperate language.The son of Italian immigrants, Rizzo was a poster boy for how a child from humble beginnings climbed the ladder of success to become the most powerful man in one of the nation's biggest cities.For the children of immigrant Italian parents who settled in the Carbon-Schuylkill area, Rizzo's success was a pathway to be emulated through hard work, perseverance and fighting through the unspeakable stereotypes painted against immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Rizzo visited the area several times to meet with immigrants and their families.Rizzo rose to national prominence as police commissioner in 1967. He served for four years during one of the most violent and turbulent times in the nation's history. While other major cities, such as Newark, saw riots, killings and large-scale vandalism, Philadelphia was relatively free of these issues largely because of Rizzo's reputation as a tough, no-nonsense, hands-on top cop.While one anti-police demonstration was going on in the City of Brotherly Love, during that era, he said, "When I'm finished with them, I'll make Attila the Hun look like a(expletive)."Rizzo resigned in 1971 to run for mayor. He was elected twice, survived a recall movement but was unsuccessful in having the City Charter amended so he could run for a third term. Rizzo died of a heart attack in 1991 at the age of 70.Rizzo's style did not endear him to civil libertarians who were instrumental in getting the U.S. Justice Department to file a suit against the police force, citing violations of defendants' civil rights that included beatings with brass knuckles, lead pipes and telephone directories.To this day, supporters and opponents argue whether Rizzo was a racist. Those who knew him say he was a combination of anger, humor, generosity and brutality. He was harsh and brash, and if criminals crossed him, he did not treat them lightly.African-Americans saw a different Frank Rizzo. In those days, when violence would break out over minor provocations, Rizzo would order police to crack down hard.Although some critics say his tactics were particularly harsh in dealing with African-Americans, others pointed to his naming of blacks to high positions in the police department and his administration and his support from some of the most influential movers and shakers in the black community.After leaving office, he supported Wilson Goode, who became Philadelphia's first African-American mayor.After several days of protests and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month, ostensibly about the expected removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park, the national conversation has turned to the removal of all Civil War statues and now even statues of others, such as Rizzo, who were perceived to be racists.Vandals spray-painted "Black Power" on the Rizzo statue on Aug. 17.Before that, the statue was egged, and garbage was thrown at its feet. Several people were arrested and charged with vandalizing public property.After the first incident, police surrounded the statue, but as soon as they left, another round of vandalism occurred. Mayor Kenney said the city cannot afford round-the-clock police protection of the statue.There have been several suggestions about where to move the statue. One that is getting consideration is putting it at the city's famous Italian market, where there is a large painted mural of Rizzo already in place. Vandals also defaced this mural during the weekend.One city resident said, "We cannot pretend that Rizzo did not walk these streets, bringing justice to some and sorrow to others."By Bruce Frassinelli |

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