John R. Bassano, Sr., born November 2, 1940, died on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at the age of 82. He is survived by his sons, John Jr. (Josephine), Joseph (Ellen), and daughter, Christine Pirone (Jack); grandchildren, Joseph, Amanda, Katelyn, Julianna, John Paul, Jack, and Ashley; sisters Darlene Cammarata and Barbara Bassano; brothers Tommy Ragazzi and Daniel Bassano; former wife, Shirley; and many nieces, nephew, and lifelong friends. He is pre-deceased by his mother, Mary Ragazzi, stepfather Rudy Ragazzi and his brothers, Robert, and Billy Ragazzi.
John lived at Mount Loretta as an orphan until he joined the United States Navy where he was stationed on the USS Forrestal. He later enlisted in the US Navy Reserves and became Yeoman First Class Officer.
John joined the Fire Department of New York shortly after leaving the navy and later became an FDNY Fire Marshal. He also became a National Advisor U.S. Police Defensive Tactics Associate Instructor at the FBI and New York City Police Academy. He was a member of the FDNY Honor Guard and served as president of the Fraternal Order Police (Lodge 20). He also trained to become an EMT. He was the recipient of the Thomas A. Kenny Medal in 1986 by the FDNY.
John dedicated most of his life to the sport of Judo where he earned his 7th-degree black belt. He opened his own judo school, Richmond County Judo Club in Tottenville in 1978 and later took over the New York Dojo. He also coached judo at Staten Island College. He was awarded many medals during his competitive judo years and was selected to train in 1992 as the coach of the Olympic Judo Camp in Lake Placid. He was the four-time U.S. Masters Champion and most recently was inducted into the National Judo Hall of Fame in 2021, an honor he greatly deserved for all his years of dedication to the sport. John’s devotion to the sport created so many champions and dedicated black belts. He was a “Sensei” to many, a title he took to heart, and will always be remembered for changing so many lives for the better.
In his early years, John was the lead singer of the band, The Vibraharps. John’s love of photography resulted in his own photo studio, Jay Cee Photo and he also freelanced numerous weddings. He was an avid motorcyclist, riding until he was 80 years old, and was a member of the Blue Knights and Islanders Motorcycle Club.
Retired Supervising Fire Marshal James E. Devery - ADMBFI
It is with deep regret we announce the passing of Retired Supervising Fire Marshal James E. Devery which occurred on August 23, 2022.
FDNY Fire Marshal Manuel Croquez
Third President of the Hispanic Society With sympathy, we announce that retired Fire Marshal Manuel Croquez, 3rd President of the Hispanic Society, passed away yesterday, April 11, 2022.
It is with deep regret we announce the passing of Supervising Fire Marshal (Retired) Salvatore A. Rignola which on January 24, 2022.
The UFA regrets to inform the membership of the loss of retired Fire Marshal Joseph O. Gillen, BFI. Fire Marshal Gillen was appointed December 17, 1977, retired September 22, 2002 and passed on August 27, 2020. We extend our deepest condolences to Fire Marshal Gillen’s family and friends.
John Knox, a dedicated and incorruptible Fire Marshal who played a major role in exposing a multi-million-dollar arson-for-profit ring in the 1980s and was the first Fire Marshal Representative on the Uniformed Firefighters Association board, died March 16 at 84, three days after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
Mr. Knox had been rushed to the hospital Feb. 26 with what family members believed was the flu. He was particularly vulnerable to coronavirus because of his age and his suffering from both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and reduced lung function due to weeks he spent at the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of 9/11.
The Daily News reported that family members were told two days prior to his death that doctors at Mt. Sinai South Nassau Medical Center could not honor their request that he be given the experimental drug Remdesivir because he was also suffering from renal failure.
"It's just terrible this [pandemic] is affecting anyone," retired UFA President Nick Mancuso, whose tenure overlapped with Mr. Knox's for nearly a decade, said in a March 17 phone interview. "John took care of a lot of issues for Fire Marshals; if the Marshals had a problem, he was there. He was the right guy for the job" on the UFA board.
Retired Uniformed Fire Officers Association President Al Hagan, who got to know Mr. Knox when they were both "pretty active delegates in the UFA," recalled him as "a very nice man, a decent guy."
But one colleague of Mr. Knox said he was also capable of raising hackles because of his outspokenness on matters ranging from the quality of fire investigations at a time when arson was wracking poorer neighborhoods of the city to his championing of racial equality after a 1973 hiring quota ordered by a judge to redress past discrimination against black candidates for Firefighter stirred resentment in the ranks.
This individual, who spoke conditioned on anonymity, said that what was interesting about Mr. Knox's expressing his views on the latter subject was, "The times that I was present when he spoke to that issue, he didn't get resistance. He wasn't afraid to speak up."
William Kregler, president of the Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, which Mr. Knox co-founded, called him one of the Marshals who "worked to enhance the way the FDNY handled fire investigations. He was at the forefront in changing state laws in obtaining Police Officer status for Fire Marshals and creating a civil-service promotion position in the FDNY. He essentially created his own police department within the Fire Department" and built up what is now its Bureau of Fire Investigation.
Veteran investigative journalist Tom Robbins March 18 recalled Mr. Knox as someone who became a Fire Marshal by mishap and because he was convinced by a friend that his willingness to speak his mind would work to his detriment if he became a Police Officer.
After breaking his leg and suffering serious burns fighting two separate fires, he said in a phone interview, "He was gonna become a cop and a friend of his said, 'John, you got too big a mouth. You'll get in trouble as a cop,' " persuading Mr. Knox to become a Fire Marshal instead.
Mr. Robbins, who would later distinguish himself as a reporter and columnist for the Village Voice and an investigative reporter for the Daily News, was working for City Limits in the early 1980s when he became acquainted with Mr. Knox, who was the lead Fire Marshal investigating an arson-for-hire ring that arranged for the torching of buildings in every borough except Staten Island.
The man coordinating those activities, Mr. Robbins said, was Joe Bald, a landlord who contracted with arsonists on behalf of himself and several other property-owners, who among them netted more than $5 million in fraudulent fire-insurance claims.
Along with a Federal investigator who was also looking into the scheme after it generated stories in The Voice, Mr. Knox persuaded Mr. Bald to cooperate with prosecutors in return for leniency.
It wasn't quite as simple as getting the middleman to flip, Mr. Robbins said. At the time, he explained, the Brooklyn District Attorney was Eugene Gold, who had close ties to Brooklyn Democratic Leader Meade Esposito, who was connected to some shady landlords and organized-crime figures. Mr. Knox, knowing of those associations, was unwilling to tell Mr. Gold—who after he left office in 1982 ran afoul of the law for unrelated activities—the identity of that witness. "Anyone who tells a DA he's not going to give up his source has got some big [brass]," Mr. Robbins said.
Despite that impasse, he continued, Mr. Knox was able to held build criminal cases in both Brooklyn and The Bronx and in Federal court [that led to] multiple convictions. John Knox was a guy who took his job so seriously that he lived and breathed that case for two or three years and made sure those guys got convicted."
Mr. Robbins concluded, "He was a hard-headed, hard-driving two-fisted investigator who believed one of the worst crimes you could commit was arson in buildings where people were living."
Mr. Knox also investigated the terrorist bombings committed by the pro-Puerto Rican-independence group known as the FALN, among them the 1975 bombing of Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan that killed four people and injured another 40.
Peter Gleason, a former Firefighter turned attorney, said that Mr. Knox after leaving the FDNY did investigative work for him on fires until shortly before he became ill. The News reported that he examined the fire on a movie set that caused the death of Firefighter Michael Davidson and disagreed with the FDNY's conclusion that the producer of the film, "Motherless Brooklyn," was not at fault. Mr. Knox is survived by a son and three daughters.
Christopher J. Raguso, 39, was appointed as a firefighter in 2005, and worked for many years in Ladder Company 113 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, before being promoted to lieutenant in 2016, and going to work in Queens. Decorated six times for bravery and saving lives, he was a volunteer firefighter on Long Island, where he lived with his wife, Carmella, and two young daughters.
Fire Marshal Christopher Tripp Zanetis, 37, who was on leave from the department, where he had been a marshal in the Bureau of Fire Investigation. Appointed as a firefighter in 2004, he was assigned to Engine Company 28 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. In 2013, Firefighter Zanetis was promoted to fire marshal and the following year was recognized for his bravery as part of an investigative unit. He graduated from Stanford Law School and recently started as an associate with the firm Debevoise & Plimpton in New York. The firm issued a statement Friday saying it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of “our colleague Tripp Zanetis.” He left for Iraq the second week of January for his third tour. His father said his son was “a pilot, flies a rescue helicopter, is a cross-fit trainer and he was in excellent health. He was unbelievable. Unbelievable.” “He loved everyone and everyone loved him,” Mr. Zanetis said.
Fire Marshal Thomas J. Bieselin, 72, award-winning husband, coolest dad/grandpa, master storyteller, avid reader, lover of beer and super friend to many, died on November 14, 2017. Tom was a shining example of hard work and tenacity which he put into practice in all of his career paths, most notably for decades as Firefighter and Fire Marshall with the FDNY at Engine 212 in Brooklyn. Tom was a Veteran and served in the US Marine Corps, Army National Guard and retired as a Master Sergeant from the Air National Guard. In his retirement, Tom was the President and CEO of his self-made company, Case Closed Inc., providing investigative services for EEO claims. Tom's legacy as an incredible person lives on through his wife of 50 years, best friend and teenage sweetheart, Jean Bieselin, his smart, kind daughters Julie, Christine and Amy, their equally fantastic husbands, Josh Faby, James Clark and Mark Craparo, his favorite (and only) grandchild Casey Elizabeth Craparo, his sister Lee and her husband Larry Blatt, his brother Herb (who recently passed away) and Herb's wife Dorothy, and a village of friends gained over his many well-lived decades. In lieu of flowers, have your car's oil changed and check your tire pressure. Tom would have wanted you to drive safely. Donations can also be made in Tom's name to: The NY Firefighters Burn Center Foundation, The Bowery Mission (NYC), Marine Toys for Tots Foundation or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - all charities that Tom & Jean proudly supported. A celebration of Tom's life is planned for December with details to follow
FM Joseph McHALE, also known as Woody, on December 24, 2012. Devoted husband of Hope I. (nee Gottlieb). Loving father of Matthew John, and Ryan Damien. Devoted son of Catherine Lionetti McHale. Brother of James M. McHale. Reposing at American Martyrs R.C. Church, 79-43 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY, Friday 12/28/12, 2-9 PM. Mass of Christian Burial Saturday, 10:00 A.M., American Martyrs R.C. Church. Appointed NYC Fire Department 7/16/1989, assigned Engine 252 - Squad 252. Promoted to Fire Marshal in 1999, working as a Fire Marshal in the City Wide North Bureau of Fire Investigations during 9/11, he survived the collapse, he was the first fire fighter to place water on the fire, recognized by the fire department for investigative excellence with the Commissioner Martin Scott Medal in 2007. VP of Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, Local 94 Fire Marshall Delegate, Former Captain of FDNY football team, played football for Brooklyn Mariners semi-pro football team