Fond memories
of Joe Alullo . . .

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Joe Alullo took his job as a police officer very seriously — most of the time.
Throughout his 27 years of service, Alullo’s colleagues counted on him to lighten things up with a practical joke, always accompanied by "that little smirk he had on his face when he knew he had you," said best friend and former Philadelphia Police Officer Ed Tufo.
But despite his humorous ways, Alullo always commanded the respect of his fellow officers, who were among the 300 mourners that came to pay respects to the murdered guard at his Oct. 9 funeral.
Alullo, 54, and former police officer William Widmaier, 65, were gunned down during an armored-car robbery at Wachovia Bank at Bustleton and Bleigh avenues on Oct. 4. The next day, police arrested and later charged Mustafa Ali, 36, of the 3800 block of Woodhaven Road, with the crime.
Alullo and Widmaier, who became guards for the Loomis Armored Car Co. after retiring from the 7th Police District, were longtime friends. Widmaier was laid to rest on Thursday.
At Alullo’s funeral, which took place at St. Anselm Roman Catholic Church in Parkwood, family, friends and colleagues remembered a good-natured man who devoted himself to his family and his job. He left behind his wife of 31 years, Donna, grown daughters Gina, Katie and Lisa, and granddaughter Emma, 1. The family lives in Levittown.
In his homily, the Rev. John E. Fitzgerald ruminated on how Alullo, whom he called a "good shepherd," could meet such a violent death. The guard was always "faithful and hard-working" and considered his wife "the love and strength of his life," Fitzgerald said.
Though it was a dangerous job, Alullo enjoyed the excitement of being a police officer.
"Being on the police force was a free ticket to the greatest show on Earth," Fitzgerald said. "Joe saw life at its best and its worst."
While in the police department, Alullo served as a juvenile aide in the Northwest Division, and also with the K-9 unit and the sex-crimes unit. He retired as a sergeant from the 7th district in 2000 and worked as a private investigator before taking the job at Loomis in 2003.
Throughout his careers, Alullo maintained "a wonderful sense of humor and rich bag of practical jokes," Fitzgerald said, "a sign of a man who’s at peace with himself."
In his eulogy, Tufo recalled his various pranks with Alullo, saying, "All the memories I have of Joe are good ones."
On paydays, the duo would raid the toy aisles of retail stores and return to the station clad in Indian headdresses and armed with fake bows and arrows. They’d lay in wait for colleagues behind doorways, and one time even surprised their supervisor with a hail of darts.
But when it came time for business, Alullo performed his job with dignity and dedication.
"He impressed the officers who worked with him," Tufo said.
Even after Tufo and Alullo stopped working at the same post, they’d meet at a gas station at Castor Avenue and Rhawn Street to have coffee. The two spoke weekly after Tufo moved to South Carolina. Alullo had also thought about moving to the south, where he often took vacations with his family.
"His favorite times were with his family," Tufo said.
Capt. Joseph Zaffino, commander of the 7th Police District, grew up near Alullo’s childhood home on Randolph Street in Hunting Park but didn’t meet the officer until 1987, when they became fast friends.
"We were so close," Zaffino told the Times after the funeral Mass. "It was a beautiful family." ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com