A decorated NYPD sergeant turned federal investigator who devoted himself to counter-terrorism efforts after 9/11 was remembered Thursday for helping keep the country safe – and also looking out for co-workers.
Robert Losada, 59, of Staten Island, died Monday from an apparent heart attack. Mourners gathered Thursday for his funeral at St. Charles Catholic Church in Staten Island.
“Bobby faithfully served the people of the city of New York with the NYPD and, for almost nine years as an investigator for our office, he kept the country safe from real terror threats in partnership with the Joint Terrorist Task Force,” said Robert Capers, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Capers also spoke of Losada as a caring friend.
“He wouldn’t let any of the assistant U.S. attorneys walk to the train late at night. He’d drive you where you needed to go,” he said. “He’s the guy who secretly watched me cross the street from our office to the courthouse and always had a nod or a firm handshake and a ‘It’s all good boss.’”
Losada joined the NYPD in 1984 as a housing cop. He served as a 9/11 first responder from his then command, Detective Borough Staten Island. His cousin by marriage, firefighter Carl Bini of FDNY Rescue 5, was killed on 9/11. Losada carried Bini’s memorial card with him in his wallet, the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted.
Losada also worked recovery at the Staten Island landfill, and was assigned soon after to the Joint Terrorist Task Force.
After retiring from the NYPD in 2009, he worked on terrorism investigations for the U.S. Attorney’s office, including the plot to blow up gas lines at Kennedy Airport.
He is survived by his wife Daria, five children: Robert, Vincent, Michael, Cristina, and Laura; grandson Salvatore; his mother Elisa Losada; father-in-law Vincent Gallo, a retired Transit police lieutenant.