The article below on Inspector Eagan garnered quite a response so here’s another interesting character for the same city, within a similar line of work. This is Inspector Thomas J Tunney.

In 1905 the NYPD set up an organization to deal with the emerging threat of IEDs from the Italian “Black Hand” extortion gangs. This “Italian Squad” led by the famous New York Italian Cop Joe Petrosino played a significant and successful role in addressing the threat. In many ways they were an “IED task Force”. Tunney was assigned to this squad as a young police officer.

Petrosino was eventually assassinated while on a mission in Italy in 1909.

In August 1914 the NYPD Commissioner formed a “Bomb Squad” made up in part from the remnants of Petrosino’s Italian squad. Thomas J Tunney was assigned to command the Unit.  To be clear this was not a bomb disposal unit at the time but, in essence, a detective division.

Tunney’s job initially was to continue the focus on Italian/mafia extortion gangs using IEDs, and the continuing anarchist revolutionary threat – and the emerging threat from German saboteurs.  Tunney coordinated a significant effort from his team of 34 detectives, and led the use of double agents and detectives working under cover as well as extensive surveillance operations..   His team prevented an attack on St Patrick’s cathedral by some anarchists in 1915 when the bomb planters were arrested “in the act” by undercover police officers, one of whom pulled the fuse from the IED to prevent the explosion.

Tunney’s work expanded significantly in 1917 to counter the IED threat from German saboteurs. As the US entered the war Tunney was transferred directly into the Military Intelligence Service, along with 20 of his squad and indeed along with a number of senior NYPD officers. A significant proportion of the Military Intelligence Service (which before the war had consisted of three people) was then assigned in essence to Homeland protection duties to counter the German IED threat.

This military Unit, with Tunney as a Major had significant responsibilities for Investigations and security, combining some of the modern roles of Police, DHS and FBI in one unit.  I think we can tell from Tunney’s stern demeanor that he was a competent man, and indeed the press reports of the time rate him very highly.  Tunney toured the nation establishing special squads to deal with the German saboteur threat and the remaining threat from anarchists and other revolutionaries.

In 1919 he returned to the NYPD and wrote a book about his investigations, available on line here.  However at this time he fell foul of NYPD politics (!) was demoted and assigned to the pickpocket crime division. His deputy, Barnitz, was also demoted, and assigned back to uniform.   Tunney soon resigned and set up a private detective agency.

The following year saw a very significant VBIED attack on Wall Street, which as a crime was never solved. It is tempting to think that had Tunney been in charge he might have got to the bottom of it.

I have gathered some significant material on the German saboteur’s IEDs of 1915-1917 in New York and New Jersey (and elsewhere in the US) and will return to this subject in future blogs.

I’ve been researching the IED history of New York, and it’s pretty fascinating.  I think there have been more IEDs in New York’s history than any other city in the world – it’s certainly up there with Baghdad and Belfast. I’ve already posted some details earlier about the Irish revolutionaries based in New York, in the 1880s and in fact there were two IED training schools in Brooklyn alone in those days, sending IEDs and trained bomb makers to England.  In the early 1900’s Italian extortion gangs used IEDs extensively in the city, and later there were anarchist devices and a very extensive IED campaign by German saboteurs between 1915 and 1917.  There’s lots of great stories, which I’ll put up posts about in coming weeks. For now here’s an image of Inspector Owen Eagen, of the New York Fire Department Bureau of Combustibles, who was in effect New York’s Bomb Tech between 1895 and 1920.  He dealt with over 7000 (yes seven thousand) IEDs between 1895 and 1920.  He lost a couple of fingers along the way.  I think you can tell by the jaunty angle of his hat and the twinkle in his eye that he was a guy who enjoyed the good things in life and maybe the occasional lunchtime tipple.  He has on the desk at his side, I think, a German incendiary IED.  He died in 1920 from “acute indigestion” whatever that means.  As an aside there was an NYPD police bomb squad from 1914, but they focused more on the investigations rather than the render safe.

Eagen was a remarkable man.