By Jesse Angelino
HAINES FALLS — Born and raised in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx during 1958, Joseph Morabito possessed a spirit that yearned for more outside his city, a way to add some miles to his soul. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the United States Navy as a cook where he quickly earned the nickname "Joey Pots-&-Pans."
"He loved to cook but he couldn't stand the taste of the MRE's ("Meals ready to eat") that were provided in the service, so he got involved with the Angels For Soldiers program and was able to receive donations of real food and real ingredients from people back in the States which he would then happily use to feed sometimes up to 100 men just so they could have a real meal" says Andrea Morabito, Joe's wife and mother to his three children.
After 2 years at sea Joe was promoted to Master At Arms, beginning what was to become a long and fascinating career in law enforcement around the world.
"In the late 70s and into the early 80s, he would participate in undercover narcotics investigations over in Iran" continues Andrea. "By 1983 he had left the Navy and the two of us got married and moved upstate to Haines Falls."
An active member of the mountaintop community, Joe would cook at his own restaurant "Jam's Cafe," volunteer with the Haines Falls Fire Department, and rescue lost or injured hikers from nearby trails.
Though retired from the Navy, Joe still pursued law enforcement work as a detective for the Dept of Veterans Affairs before securing a position with the Department of Defense in Bayonne, New Jersey (and a lengthy commute).
" He would go down, work for three 12 hour shifts a week, and then come back upstate to be with his family" cited Andrea.
"I remember my dad was a man of many hats" begins Joey, Joseph's son who is better known by friends up the mountain by his nickname "Bito."
"He would be cooking up here in the restaurant one day and then the next he would be guarding gold for the Federal Reserve, it was wild" he remembers, during a time his father found work closer to home with the U.S. Mint at West Point. "That was his life, but then when the events on 9/11 happened it affected him deeply and he felt a call to go back."
With the devastations of the terrorist attacks weighing heavy on his mind, Joseph enrolled as a contractor in the role of an LEP (Law Enforcement Professional) for the United Nations that would travel overseas and use his vast stores of knowledge and experience to better educate and train foreign law enforcement or "National Police" to better detect and stop terrorism before it reached our shores. He would equip and train police in Iran, authorities in Haiti, and officers in Afghanistan with everything he knew.
Tragically, on June 8th of 2013, while on assignment in Afghanistan providing physical security for a group of high-ranking U.S. military personnel, Joseph was killed in action by insurgents targeting a senior officer whom the insurgents believed was going to compromise one of their future missions. It was later discovered that the senior officer targeted in the attack was the victim of mistaken identity, and not the man the insurgents were looking for.
"When he was away my dad would contact us if not once a day then definitely once a week" starts Joseph's oldest daughter Amanda. "He would always show us these pictures and videos online of what he was doing in all of these far away places, keeping us updated on his work, and just really inspiring me to want to do more with my life." "He really loved his job, and it was something that he took very seriously but when he was around us, his family, he was always very funny and humorous" Amanda continues. "When we were out driving he was the guy that would speed up on bumps so all us kids in the back seat would get bounced around, he would squirt us with water at dinner when we weren't looking, he would sing these ridiculous songs that he made up but would swear were real, and he loved taking us to his secret fishing spot out at North Lake."
After his unfortunate passing, Joseph's family received a surprise visit from celebrity chef Fabio Viviani of the cooking program "Ciao Chow," who wanted to give their regards after hearing of his loss and knowing that he was a tremendous fan who would often share recipes he learned watching it with his troops as well as his family.
"Cooking was just as important to my father as serving his country" regales Tonianne, Joseph's youngest daughter. "I think that's part of the reason why I became a baker." "When we were growing up my father would make trips off base to gather supplies for things like pizza sound really exciting, I mean here was this man who would go out to get cheese and naan bread in a helicopter" Tonianne continues.
In honor of her father's memory, Tonianne organized a 5K run/walk known as the DASH to raise charitable funds to help veteran organizations like Team Red, White, and Blue who reach out in support for those in the armed forces and their families raise $ 7,500. "I took psychology in college because I wanted to better understand people and especially veterans that suffer with PTSD" Tonianne says. "I used to love going running with my dad, which is why I thought of organizing DASH."
With the 21-year mark approaching this weekend, Joseph's family is able to look back with pride on his career and reputation as a man with a lot of love to give, a big teddy bear to his kids and a hopeless romantic for his wife. "Every year without him is a milestone" Joey concludes.
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