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they wound up partnering, there could be only one Marco.
“He had seniority, so he said, ‘Why don’t you call me Vinny?’ And he took on more of that character. That was truer to his Ital-
ian culture.”
Vinny DiFranco developed some powers that made him one
of the most memorable people you will ever meet. For one thing, Mar revealed, DiFranco was a real wise guy when it came to money. Even when he made drug buys working undercover, he could always be seen on video haggling for a better price.
That would crack up the officers in the unit. Vinny had a great sense of humor that fueled his stage presence. He was also known as a creative dresser when undercover, reasoning how that was part of being in character.
“He should have been an actor,” Mar added. “We have to act when we’re out there on the street. He took it to another level. He would do things that he knew we would see later on video and would make us laugh.”
Vinny was known as the grinder in the unit, possessing an unconditional work ethic that helped him earn 154 commen- dations, including a Superintendent’s Honorable Mention and Special Commendation. He also was the guy in the unit who reminded everybody about getting home safe.
“He was very conscientious about safety,” Mar noted. “He was the mouthpiece for the team about continuing safety prac- tices.”
He was also a guy who endeared himself to other team mem- bers by ribbing them about eating too much fast food. And part of his success as an officer was an innate ability to talk to any- body about anything.
But Marco had a sensitive side. He took pride in showing younger officers how to earn respect and would get it in return. One of those was his younger brother Sal, who was also in nar- cotics. Another was Ryan McCarthy, who only worked with Di-
As the CPD Pipes and Drums plays, members of the Department honor guard escort the hearse carrying Marco DiFranco. The honor guard then presents the honorary Chicago Police flag to DiFranco’s wife, Maria.
Franco for a year. But he made a lasting impression on McCa- rthy.
“Other than him being a real-life badass on the job, when you talked to Marco, he listened,” McCarthy described. “I have twin girls and him being a father, whenever we talked about our kids, he would always get a little more focused. He always gave good advice about the little things in life.”
McCarthy hopes to eventually pass on some words to DiFran- co’s two children, ages 7 and 10, that would include this mes- sage:
“I hope that one day I can tell them what a hero their father was.”
Impeccable from head to toe
Every morning, Ronald Newman started his tour by taking his beat car to be washed. All the workers at the car wash knew him. And he ended his tour by wiping down his car. He started the ritual years before COVID-19 set in.
His uniform always looked like it came fresh out of the clean- ers. And he would get his hair cut twice a week, not worrying about officers in 004 teasing him for doing so.
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