Funeral: 'Huge Void' Left by Officer's Death

Mount Arlington police officer Joseph Wargo was remembered Friday as a practical joker, a dedicated family man and police officer, and someone who lived life to the fullest.

More than 1,100 people, including more than 600 police officers from across New Jersey, attended the funeral service and internment of.

Wargo grew up in Phillipsburg and lived in Lopatcong with his wife Amy.

Among those attending, either at the church or at the funeral home, were Lt. Gov. Kim Guardano and Attorney General Paula Dow, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi and Mount Arlington Mayor Arthur Ondish.

The procession featured a combined pipe and drum corps, and was led through Alpha's narrow streets by more than 200 motorcycle police officers. As it arrived at St. Mary's Church, the procession was greeted by a block-long phalanx of police officers standing at attention, and a honor guard displaying flags and ceremonial rifles that stretched, under a changing grey sky, from the street to the church vestibule.

The roar of the motorcycles, which shattered the deep silence of the street outside the church, was replaced by the skirling of bagpipes and the gun-shot rhythms of tight  snare drums. Then silence again.

A New Jersey State Police helicopter performed a low-altitude fly-over.

After the church service, the entire police contingent filed in pairs into the church to briefly offer their respects and farewells.

Seven Mount Arlington police officers guided the casket from the church to a horse-drawn caisson, which carried Wargo slowly to the nearby cemetery.

The casket was covered with flowers and several pairs of white gloves had been draped  on the brass handles.

Wargo's friend Richard Chiappa in his eulogy said the police officer was the person who was always noticed in a crowd because he was loud. The remark drew a soft, knowing laugh from crowd of 500 inside the Catholic church.

"He was my brother," Chiappa said.

He described his friend as  "Teddy bear of a man" who did not judge people "by the cover of the book." He said Wargo was open-minded and fair.

"He was a lover of life, and he lived it well," Chiappa said.

Mount Arlington's Acting Police Chief Keith Licata said Wargo was the police officer who questioned the authority of those in higher command and the rules of the department that had been in place for years, all in his first week on duty.

Licata said Wargo set the standard for practical jokes in the department, including one when the foam rubber kept coming out of police car steering wheels. When asked about it, Licata said Wargo said, oddly, that had been a problem at his other department as well.

The chief said he collected pronouncements that Wargo made, which became known as "Wargoisms."

Wargo loved children, Licata said, and deeply enjoyed his role as the department's D.A.R.E. officer who spoke to children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

"We now have a huge void," Licata said. "We have lost a brother. Where we were 13, we are now 12."

After the graveside service, and after each officer singly passed the casket and paused for a silent moment, the Mount Arlington Police Department gathered in circle and each man held the man next to him.