Ignazio Pagliaro (c. 1876-1938) immigrated to the United States from Italy at the age of 14 and ran the concrete sub-contractor business known as Knickerbocker Inc. in partnership with its founder Luigi Gerbino (d. 1930s). Ignazio continued to run the business as a joint venture after Luigi's death, sometimes assuming the name of the deceased.

Ignazio's son, Frank Pagliaro Sr. (1900-1999), studied civil engineering at Cornell University in the early 1920s and inherited the family concrete sub-contracting business from his father after graduation. During Frank Sr.'s tenure the company grew from sub-contracting to general contracting. Knickerbocker Inc., functioned as the parent company of many incorporated businesses such as Knickerbocker Construction Co.; Knickerbocker Fireproofing & Concrete Co., Inc.; IP Co. (Ignazio Pagliari Co.); Contel Construction Co.; and various incorporated businesses named after the address of a management/construction site (e.g. Fifth Avenue & 46th Street Corp.). Knickerbocker Inc. is believed to be the largest family-owned North American concrete construction company of its time.

Knickerbocker Inc. was dissolved in the 1970s. The Pagliaro family has cited pressure from the Italian Mafia--widely known to control aspects of concrete/construction contracts at the time--as the primary reason for the company's demise.