Never forget,
JAMES A. ROMITO
World Trade Center
WATER AND THE WOODS
On his 50th birthday last year, James A. Romito and his fiancée, Mary Pat Brew Sturdy, had just opened a bottle of wine when his beeper went off: an attempted hijacking at Kennedy Airport. Mr. Romito, the chief of the Port Authority Police Department, answered the call, returning home only at 7 the next morning.
It was typical of the way his sense of duty and public service had structured his life, Ms. Sturdy said. "He would be in the midst of everything," she said. In 30 years with the Port Authority, he had handled crises, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and quieter challenges, like how to humanely deal with the homeless at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Outside of work, he wanted to be just a regular person. He had Mary Pat and her son, Bobby; he had his daughter, Ellen. Ms. Sturdy said most of the people at their favorite bar, Poor Henry's, did not even know what he did.
He loved the water and the woods. There were times when the beeper would go off, and it would be something he could handle from home. The screened-in back porch would become a command center, and there he and Mary Pat would sit ‹ dealing with the crisis, and looking at the woods.
Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 16, 2001.
JAMES ROMITO, 51, COMMITTED TO PUBLIC SERVICE
Port Authority Police Chief James Romito could have stayed at headquarters when he heard the news that a plane crashed into Tower One of the World Trade Center. But that was not Mr. Romito's way.
In his last cell phone conversation with his fiancée, Mary Pat Brew Sturdy, on the morning of the Sept. 11 attack, Mr. Romito told her, "I have to save people," and then ran toward the screams.
The 51-year-old Montville resident might have accomplished his mission, because witnesses told Brew Sturdy they saw him on the 31st floor guiding people to the exits and toward safety.
"He would do anything for anyone," Brew Sturdy said. "That was his nature. He was the warmest, most generous, caring, loving person."
He has rushed to people's aid many times in his 30-year career with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
He was among the rescuers at the World Trade Center in 1993, when a terrorist exploded a bomb in the basement garage.
He was at Kennedy Airport following the crash of TWA Flight 800 over Long Island in 1996.
He was both tough and tender, Brew Sturdy said.
His tender side was evident from his work with the homeless. The Port Authority lauded him for developing Operation Alternative -- a program that connects homeless people who frequent agency bus terminals to shelters and social workers.
He helped runaways and received praise from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for his efforts.
Brew Sturdy said Mr. Romito got numerous awards and medals for his commitment to public service.
Mr. Romito was also in charge of a community policing plan at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Port Newark and Elizabeth Port Marine Terminals. He belonged to various organizations including the International Association of Police Chiefs, the International Port and Harbor Association, the American Association of Airport Executives, the American Association of Port Authorities and the National Cargo Security Council.
The 1978 graduate of Adelphi University also taught in the master's degree law enforcement program at Seton Hall University.
With an eye toward retirement, Mr. Romito started a new consulting company with his fiancée last year.
In addition to Brew Sturdy and her son Bobby, he is survived by his daughter Ellen of Washington Township, Bergen County; parents Anthony and Rina of Bronx, N.Y., a sister, Laura Fasullo of Pearl River, N.Y. and a brother, Anthony of Monroe, N.Y.
Profile by Judith Lucas published in THE STAR-LEDGER.
Mary, my best friends sister is gone now almost 10 years, she died of a broken heart, Her son Bobby who the knife was made for due to the generosity of so many people who pulled together, donated time an materials to build a knife as a fitting tribute to James. There were video feeds from cameras on the mezzanine and mezzanine stairwell that showed Jim, a maintenance worker and a handicapped woman in a wheelchair they were assisting down.
During all the videos that leaked out in those first hours after the attack there were 2 that made it onto the news. 2 that had images of a Port Authority police officer a woman in a wheelchair and a WTC employee on the mezzanine and the stairwell. Marry was in contact with Jim up until the collapse of the first building. Jim had told her from his cell phone that he was helping a handicapped woman to the ground floor and was going to set up the command post. (he was the Chief of Police for the entire PA Police Dept.)
He was on his phone when the building collapsed, the last thing he said to Mary was, "I love you." and "...it looks like I'm not gonna be home for dinner."
She heard the sound of building collapsing on him, he never knew what hit him. She stayed on the phone for days, I remember tryin' to get her to hang up and just eat something or get some sleep. Couldn't even get her to put down her phone. The last time she talked to him was on the cell phone. Even after a week had gone by she held onto that phone and the hope that Jim was gonna call her or answer his phone on one of the thousand calls she placed over the upcoming weeks.
She paid both cell phone bills for over a year because , "What if he calls and his phone service is off?" Her love was murdered and she never got over it. Her heart was broken and with her tenuous grasp on reality it wasn't long before she chose to be with him. She stopped takin' care of herself and just withered away to nothing, physically and mentally.
Bobby her son in the picture went onto join the Marines right after graduating from college several years later. He went in to be the best, he was involved in some Spec Ops group, I don't pretend to understand what he does, I just thank him and pray for him. When ever he's back stateside he lets his uncle my best friend know and we try to get together for dinner or at least a drink to honor Jim and his mother.
The bastards are still taking lives, all these years later, they took all the lives of the people on the planes and in the buildings and yet all these so many years later they're still takin' lives collaterally. How many people sought solace in alcohol, drugs or just withdrew altogether? The death count still rises albeit slower, the body count continues with the lone wolf attacks and the misinformed and misguided people who aid in the training and re education of a new generation of people still lookin' for answers.
The above is not intended as a political rant and please don't respond with any political rhetoric, I will ask a mod to move it if anyone does. This is above all a thanks to the people who helped me to honor Jim's memory and the people who helped me through this difficult time for my family and friends.
Smoke up and prayers out for all who are no longer with us, smoke up and prayers out for those of us left behind, as long as I have breath, as long as I can speak or write, I will never forget and always remember.
Peace & Love Forever
