Joseph Mark Paolillo

Detective Joe Paolillo died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

His brother, Battalion Chief John Paolillo, served with the New York City Fire Department and was killed in the line of duty when the World Trade Center's North Tower collapsed on September 11th, 2001.

Detective Paolillo had served with the New York City Police Department for 30 years.

Joseph M. Paolillo was appointed to the New York City Police Department on 5 July 1989 and was promoted to detective on 5 December 1997. His commands over a 30-year career included the Organized Crime Control Bureau, and he earned second grade on 29 March 2016. His brother, John Paolillo, an FDNY battalion deputy chief, was killed in the attacks of 11 September 2001.

Detective Paolillo was still an active member of the Real Time Crime Center when he died on 9 September 2019 of illnesses he contracted during the rescue and recovery after the World Trade Center attacks. He was survived by his wife and three sons. On 4 August 2023 the corner of Sheppard Street and Glen Head Road in Glen Head, New York, near his family's home, was renamed in his honor, and on 15 November 2023 the Real Time Crime Center dedicated a van in his name.