Former Detective Dies of Cancer by Exposure to 9/11 Debris

NEW YORK– According to Policeone.com, 51-year-old Joseph L. Pidoto, a former detective with the NYPD died of cancer last week. Pidoto was off on September 11, 2001, but when he saw news of the terrorist attack, he went in to help with the relief work.

According to Debbie Pidoto, Pidoto’s widow, the former officer died from liver cancer that he developed because of his exposure to toxic substances in Manhattan following the attack.

Pidoto worked with the 104^th Precinct in Queens and was sent to work in Manhattan for weeks after the Twin Towers came down.

In 2012, Pidoto went to a doctor because he was experiencing difficulty swallowing, the doctor found that the officer had “a buildup of undigested food in his system.” Debbie said that within a weekend her husband became jaundiced. Medical tests revealed that Pidoto had a tumor in his bile duct. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor and was put on chemotherapy. The treatments staved off cancer temporarily, but it came back.

Pidoto was a police officer from 1991 until 2014.

One week before his death, Pidoto insisted on being discharged from the hospital, against the advice of his doctors, so that he would be able to attend his son’s wedding.

Friends and family of Pidoto describe him as a generous and compassionate man and told stories about his benevolent deeds. His wife said that when he heard that his daughter’s boyfriend’s mother’s house was going into foreclosure, he purchased the house and then rented it to the family for the amount she was able to pay. Pidoto’s boss said that when his family friend was struggling financially with a daughter who was suffering from brain cancer, Pidoto, who had never met the family, bought them a dishwasher.