Vincent DeSimone

Vincent J. DeSimone, Jr. (1918–1979) was the Chief of Detectives of Passaic County, New Jersey, USA. In 1966, he became known as the lead detective in the homicide case at Lafayette Grill, Paterson, New Jersey. His handling of eyewitnesses was criticized by supporters of the accused ¹ and the federal court later wrote about the special treatment of key witness Bello by the police: "His [Bello's] motivation was crystallized when, shortly after the trial, police officers and others tried to help him obtain a $10,000 reward offered to persons providing information that led to the arrest and conviction of the Lafayette Bar killers"⁵.

In 1969 he resigned from his job as the result of a dispute about the way that a murder investigation was being handled (which was, according to an unnamed county attorney quoted in his obituary, "the only thing that a respectable law enforcement man could do" in the situation), and for a year worked as warden of the Passaic County jail, until he was re-hired by a new county prosecutor.¹

DeSimone was facially disfigured, his face having been hit by a bullet during his service in World War II. Although he underwent nineteen plastic surgery operations, it was never fully restored.²

Comparison with Vincent Della Pesca

DeSimone was portrayed in the movie The Hurricane as "Lt. Vincent Della Pesca", an obsessed racist out to get Rubin Carter. There is no evidence that this is a correct description of DeSimone, and the partial disclaimer in the movie credits states, "some characters have been composites or invented, and a number of incidents fictionalized."⁶. Unlike the character in the film:

• DeSimone had never met Carter before the murders, and so had not hounded him as a child. ^{3 4}
• DeSimone could not have threatened Carter's Canadian supporters immediately prior to the 1985 federal hearing, since he died in 1979. ^{1 3}
• Obviously, he couldn't be present at the 1985 trial, either. ^{1 3}

References

1. — Vincent DeSimone's obituary