Memorial for Mt. Arlington officer inspires legislation

MOUNT ARLINGTON - Borough police officers spent six months working out their grief over the 2011 death of fellow Officer Joseph Wargo by creating a stunning roadside memorial on the Route 80 site in Roxbury where Wargo died in his patrol car after being struck by a driver high on heroin, morphine and Xanax.

The on-duty death of Wargo, 38, on Oct. 16, 2011, is the impetus behind state legislation  proposed by Judy Shoudy, a friend of the officer and an EMT, and developed into a proposed, bipartisan bill by state Assembly members Anthony M. Bucco, R-Morris, and Annette Quijano, D-Union, and state Sen. Anthony (Tony) Bucco, R-Morris.

The bill, named "Patrolman Joseph Wargo's Law," would direct the state Department of Transportation to establish a memorial program that would accept applications from survivors, family, friends or organizations who want to erect -- at no cost to taxpayers -- roadside memorials in the name of police officers, firefighters, EMTs and sheriff's officers  killed in the line-of-duty.

The DOT would review the applications and have authority to permit the memorials and regulate  their sizes so long as they don't serve as a distraction to motorists.  The costs would be borne by the applicants.

New Jersey currently has no specific law that permits or disallows roadside memorials for officers, firefighters, EMTs and sheriff's officers.  The bill was passed unanimously by the state Senate in June and was passed by the Assembly Homeland Security & State Preparedness Committee, which is chaired by Quijano.  It still requires a vote by the Assembly and then a signature from Gov. Chris Christie.

On Monday, Assembly members Bucco and Quijano; Shoudy and  her husband, Glenn and their son, Spenser;  Police Chief Keith Licata and the Rev. Tim Carr of St. John's Church of Boonton, met at the roadside memorial to Wargo to remember the officer and hold a prayer service.

Bucco said that without a specific law in place, the DOT is free to remove roadside memorials.

"Right now, DOT will sometimes take the memorials down and sometimes leave them up.  The law would create a consistent, uniform law that would allow for the recognition that is suitable and appropriate for those who gave their lives," Bucco said.

Licata and Judy Shoudy, who met Wargo years ago while working as an EMT in Mount Arlington, said his death led to officers clearing the site off Route 80.  A 12-foot-high cross was built from a tree on site, paving stones were laid and colorful mums are routinely planted around a huge rock that is the centerpiece of the memorial.

A plaque on the rock, emblazoned with an image of the officer, reads: Joseph S. Wargo Jr. Mount Arlington Police Department.  End of watch Oct. 16, 2011."  The plaque includes a Wargo quote: "The difference between a man's strength and weakness lies in his determination to succeed."

Licata said officers still grieve for Wargo and stop at the memorial whenever they wish.  A retired borough officer cuts the grass in the clearing, and landscapers have donated shrubs and flowers, he said.

"He had the biggest personality.  He added a lot of energy and life to the department," Licata said. "Every year on Oct. 16th at midnight, you'll find people gathering here."

Wargo had just finished a meal and was on Route 80 in Roxbury, only yards from the Mount Arlington boundry, when his patrol vehicle was struck by motorist Michael Cassella, 30, of Howell, just after midnight into the morning of Oct. 16, 2011.

The crash sent Wargo's car off the highway into the trees.  Cassella, who was high on heroin, Xanax and morphine, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and was sentenced in 2013 to 20 years in prison, with 85 percent of the term to be served before parole eligibility.

Judy Shoudy said she wants to pay tribute not only to Wargo but to all the public servants identified in the bill.  Her husband is a retired East Hanover Police Department officer; her son is a Randolph officer and another son, Spenser,  wants to be a police officer.

"A lot of love went into this memorial," Shoudy said, after the prayer service that included a reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Our Father prayer.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.