Sal Moschella, immigrant from Italy, retired NYPD officer and Farmingdale volunteer, dies at 93

From a childhood his family described as "Neapolitan street urchin," a teenage Sal Moschella would emigrate from Italy and become a lieutenant in the NYPD, earn a master’s in criminal justice and raise a family that includes a DEA attorney, the global controller of Indeed.com and a fallen FDNY firefighter.

"A very, very good work ethic. That's how he accomplished everything that he did," remembered his wife, Marjorie Moschella, of South Farmingdale. "His family was not educated. He did this all on his own."

"He provided for us — everything we needed," added their daughter, Maria Assalone, of Farmingdale, one of the couple’s four surviving children. "Even if he was struggling, we would never see that struggle. Even if he had to take an odd job" in his early days as a beat patrolman. "I know at one time he was working at a gas station just to help make ends meet."

Sal Moschella died April 10 of heart failure at the Mary Ann Tully Hospice Inn in Melville at age 93. He had suffered a heart attack in 1978 that cut short his police career, and another in 1982, after he and two partners had formed a real estate agency. He nonetheless threw himself into volunteerism for decades with Farmingdale’s St. Kilian Parish and with Columbus Lodge 2143 of the Order Sons of Italy in America.

"He was a great guy," said Keith Wilson, a past president of the lodge and a friend for more than 20 years. "He was on the [organization’s] Commission for Social Justice and he was also the editor of The Golden Lion," the bimonthly newspaper of the Sons of Italy’s New York State chapter. Moschella, he said, "was a caring man about his culture and heritage."

That did not rob him of a sense of humor, friends and family said. "He was a serious person except he had a great sense of humor and he could make people laugh," said his wife. "People would say things to him and he would come back with something funny."

It was a hard-earned humor. Salvatore Moschella, who was born on Dec. 26, 1932, in Naples, Italy, didn't meet his father, Giovanni, until 13-year-old Sal and his mother, Concetta Cimmino Moschella, immigrated to New York City in September 1946. Sal’s two older brothers, Filippo and Vincenzo, previously had immigrated with their plumber father, but the rise of Italian fascism followed by World War II had then kept the family apart.

After growing up in Brooklyn, where he graduated high school, Sal moved to Staten Island. In 1964 he married Marjorie Elizabeth Curley, and by the end of the decade had moved his young family to South Farmingdale.

He joined the NYPD in the mid-1950s, walking a beat in various precincts until working his way up to lieutenant in the highway patrol unit. "He had taken the captain's test and passed it," his wife said. But following his first heart attack, he chose to retire rather than work a desk job.

While on the force, he earned a bachelor’s in public administration and a master’s in criminal justice from John Jay College in Manhattan.

In retirement Moschella served in executive positions with the Order Sons of Italy in America, including on its scholarship committee, and for many years edited its statewide newspaper. In 2010, he received the order’s Sellaro award, given to members who exemplify the organization’s principles and ideals.

In his spare time, Moschella enjoyed "reading any kind of history, about any country," his wife said, "and watching political shows on TV."

In addition to his wife and daughter, Moschella is survived by sons Frank, of Eatons Neck, James, of North Merrick, and Matthew, of South Farmingdale; and 11 grandchildren. Another son, FDNY Capt. John Moschella, who worked rescue-and-recovery after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the World Trade Center, died in 2018 of related cancer.

Visitation was held April 14 at McCourt & Trudden Funeral Home in Farmingdale. Following a service April 15 at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church, he was interred at St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries in Farmingdale, where the NYPD Ceremonial Unit presented the family with the department flag. Donations may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.