Domenico Cacciola (born in 1945) is an Italian decorated police officer who joined the

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

in 1966. He became an undercover detective in the 1970s. In 1977 he received the

Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct The Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct, formerly the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, acknowledged brave acts by both civilians and members of the armed services in both war and peace, for gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. Est ...

, and the

National Medal (Australia) The National Medal is an Australian award given for long service by operational members of specified eligible organisations. It was introduced in 1975, as an original component of the new Australian honours system, and replaced a range of medal ...

in 1991.Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney
After retiring in 2001, he wrote his memoir with the assistance of his brother Carmelo Cacciola and journalist Ben Robertson. In 2009 the

University of Queensland Press University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's ...

published his autobiography ''The Second Father'', which detailed how he resisted underworld crime and the corruption which was rampant within the

until the

Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...

. His second book, ''Who's Who in the Zoo'', is an insiders story of crime and corruption in the police force, when he was a CIB and Special Branch detective.

Early life

Born in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in 1945, Domenico Cacciola moved with his family to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia in 1954. His father ran a fruit shop in

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,197 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

, and as the eldest of four brothers Domenico was considered the 'second father'. As a child Cacciola experienced racism and discrimination due to his heritage, which prompted his decision to apply to the

in 1965.

Career

Cacciola joined the

in 1966 and due to his background was assigned to undercover duties investigating illegal gambling activities within the Italian community. In the 1970s he witnessed the full extent of corruption within the police force, serving under the now disgraced Sergeant Jack Herbert and former Commissioner Terry Lewis. In the late 1970s he became a Special Branch detective, spending much of his time breaking up street marches in Brisbane in what was a period of social unrest.Good cops, bad cops – Life Matters – 16 July 2009
/ref> In 1977 he received the

, and the

in 1991.Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney

Books

* ''The Second Father: An insiders story of cops, crime and corruption'' (2009) * ''Who's Who in the Zoo'' (2013)

References

External links

Two books about crime and corruption in the Queensland police
��Gold Coast Writers Association, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cacciola, Domenico 1945 births Living people Writers from Sicily Recipients of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct Australian non-fiction crime writers