Pay or Die (2023) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Petrosino was selected because of his unique qualifications: he was fluent in Italian, which allowed him to communicate with the immigrant community in tenement neighborhoods, and he had already built trust with local residents. These skills made him essential for gathering intelligence and convincing Italian-Americans to cooperate with police against the gangsters they had previously revered.

• petrosino
• black hand
• italian language
• police task force
• tenement

After a performance, a Black Hand operative planted a bomb in Caruso's vehicle. When the bomb detonated, the explosion was deflected upward by a forgotten hat sitting on the car's seat where Caruso would have sat. This meant the blast went over the opera star's head, killing only the chauffeur instead.

• enrico caruso
• bomb
• hat
• black hand
• assassination attempt

When the jeweler received a threatening note from The Black Hand, he immediately informed Petrosino. However, this warning inadvertently alerted the gangsters that their communications had been compromised. In another bomb, this retaliation, they planted time hidden in a vegetable cart, which killed the jeweler and several schoolgirls, including the daughter of a Black Hand member.

• jeweler
• bomb
• vegetable cart
• schoolgirls
• black hand retaliation

Petrosino cleverly disguised himself as a large bundle of cotton rags, allowing him to be delivered into the bomber's concealed hideout. This risky infiltration enabled him to confront the suspect directly, though the bomber resisted arrest and was killed in the ensuing struggle.

• petrosino
• disguise
• cotton rags
• bomber hideout
• infiltration

Di Sarno was a Black Hand associate who lost his daughter in the vegetable cart bombing, a tragedy that resulted from the gang's own retaliatory attack. Overcome with grief over her death, he took his own life, illustrating how the violence of The Black Hand ultimately destroyed even those connected to the organization.

• di sarno
• suicide
• daughter
• black hand
• grief

Petrosino traveled to Italy to identify local criminals who were wanted in their homeland and could be extradited back to the United States. This strategy was designed to bypass legal complications in the U.S. by prosecuting criminals under Italian law, and it proved highly successful in exposing the international reach of organized crime.

• petrosino
• italy
• extradition
• international crime
• sicily

Vito Zarillo was a notorious figure operating in Little Italy who was revealed to be a fugitive wanted in Sicily for double homicide. Petrosino uncovered his true identity during his investigation in Italy, exposing how prominent criminals within American Italian communities were actually fugitives from European crimes.

• vito zarillo
• fugitive
• double homicide
• sicily
• little italy

As Petrosino prepared to leave Sicily, he was lured into a secret meeting with an informant he believed could provide valuable intelligence. However, the informant was actually a mafia leader who set up the meeting. Before Petrosino could extract any information or escape, he was murdered on the streets of Sicily.

• petrosino
• assassination
• sicily
• informant
• mafia leader

At Petrosino's funeral in New York City, Vito Zarillo, an associate of The Black Hand and fugitive from Sicily, publicly spat into the coffin. This act of disrespect demonstrated the gangster's contempt for Petrosino and the law, but it also provoked rookie cop Johnny Viscardi, who witnessed the offense and became determined to bring Zarillo to justice.

• zarillo
• coffin
• funnel
• disrespect
• viscardi
• justicewhat-happened-to-vis

Before his assassination, Petrosino had prepared rookie cop Johnny Viscardi to carry forward his mission, giving him vital evidence against The Black Hand's leadership. After witnessing Zarillo's disrespectful act at the funeral, Viscardi was motivated to pursue justice using this evidence, ensuring Petrosino's work would continue.

• viscardi
• evidence
• justice
• petrosino legacy
• black hand

Despite his socially awkward demeanor, Petrosino found unexpected romance with Adelina Saulino, the daughter of a family he had previously helped. Their relationship developed as Adelina came to appreciate Petrosino's dedication to their community, eventually leading to their marriage, a significant personal milestone in his otherwise dangerous career.

• adelina saulino
• romance
• marriage
• petrosino personal life

When Petrosino confronted the notorious extortionist Lupo Miano, he quickly realized that The Black Hand's operations were far more complex than simple racketeering. This encounter revealed the sophisticated criminal network that extended beyond street-level crime, showing the organization posed a greater threat to the community than initially apparent.

• lupo miano
• extortion
• black hand
• racketeering
• criminal network