Grosso, his partner Eddie Egan, and other NYPD detectives broke up an organized crime ring in 1961 and seized 112 pounds of heroin, a record amount at the time.
Egan's character, Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, was played by Gene Hackman, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
"[3] Starting as a technical adviser on movies like The French Connection and The Godfather, while he was still working for the NYPD, Grosso learned the craft of filmmaking from people such as Oscar winners Philip D'Antoni,[4] William Friedkin, and Francis Ford Coppola.
In 1976, Grosso retired from the NYPD, and subsequently became a movie and TV producer, involved in many productions, including the 1970s cop shows Kojak and Baretta.
[6] From 1985 to 1989, Grosso also produced a TV series (filmed in Canada and rebroadcast on CBS) entitled Night Heat, starring Jeff Wincott and Scott Hylands.
[7] In October 2007, Grosso produced a limited-engagement performance of Richard Vetere's Be My Love: The Mario Lanza Story with The Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra, Louis Panacciulli conducting.