Two New Jersey law enforcement officers who grew up in Hazlet will be remembered alongside nine other fallen officers when the Archdiocese of Newark holds its 33rd Annual Blue Mass this Thursday, Nov. 12, at 10 a.m. Both men died of illnesses tied to their response to the World Trade Center attacks, and both are counted among four honorees whose deaths are linked to 9/11-related illness this year.
The Mass will take place at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, according to Patch. This year's liturgy carries added weight, marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks even as it honors the 11 officers.
A Trooper and a Sergeant, Both Raised in Hazlet
Lt. Peter Bruncati grew up in Hazlet before settling in Middletown in 1994, according to his obituary from Shore Point Funeral Home and Cremation Service. He spent 25 years as a New Jersey State Trooper, a career the obituary says he dedicated himself to and enjoyed every minute of. Bruncati died on June 2, 2023, at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch at age 66.
Sgt. 1st Class William A. Casey was born in West Long Branch and also raised in Hazlet. He served 25 years as a sergeant first class in the New Jersey State Police before retiring in 2012, and after living in Manalapan, he settled in Farmingdale in 1998. Casey, 61, died on Aug. 23, 2022, at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.
Both men will be remembered during the 10 a.m. Mass in Newark as officers who died from illnesses connected to their response at the World Trade Center. The broader toll of that exposure has been well documented: prolonged contact with toxins and pollutants at Ground Zero led many first responders and volunteers to develop and later succumb to 9/11-related illnesses, according to American Police Beat Magazine.
An Annual Tradition Rooted in Newark
The Blue Mass brings together officers from federal, state, county and municipal agencies alongside families of the deceased, community members and public officials, the Monmouth Journal reports. Chief Christopher Trucillo of the NJ Transit Police Department serves as honorary chairman of this year's service.
The gathering continues a tradition that stretches back decades in Newark. The Archdiocese held its 31st Annual Blue Mass on Nov. 7 a few years earlier, also at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where Port Authority Police Officer Anthony J. Mezzacappa, a Hazlet resident who died in the line of duty, was among those honored, according to a separate report from The Monmouth Journal. The following year's edition was described by organizers as the Thirty-Second Annual Liturgy of the Blue Mass, commemorating the 24th anniversary of 9/11, per the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association.
This year's service ties together officers from across New Jersey whose service and sacrifice will be recognized together on Thursday morning in Newark. For the Hazlet families of Bruncati and Casey, the Mass offers a shared moment of remembrance alongside the families of nine other officers who will also be remembered at the Mass.
