Chesco Detective And West Chester University Professor Passes Away

WESTCHESTER, PA —Retired West Chester University professor, chief of the Chester County Detectives, and Philadelphia police captain, Albert L. DiGiacomo passed away on Feb. 23. He was 73.

After serving a highly decorated career in law enforcement since 1970, the Chester County District Attorney said the office is deeply saddened to share news of the passing of Al DiGiacomo.

DiGiacomo started as a patrol officer in Philadelphia in 1970 for the 18th District in Philadelphia, which covered Southwest Philadelphia, then served in the K-9 Unit. He later worked at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in the Organized Crime Unit, Central Detectives, and South Detective Division.

In 1999, District Attorney Anthony Sarcione hired DiGiacomo as chief of the Chester County Detectives, and he served in this position until 2008. He also taught a criminal justice class at West Chester University.

While working as a Chester County detective, the seeds of DiGiacomo's teaching aspirations were sown when his son, Christopher, asked him to give a talk at his school, according to his obituary.

In 2004, Christopher was a junior at Conestoga High School and enrolled in a criminal justice Class.

The instructor asked the students if anyone’s parents had law enforcement experience and if they could come in and talk to the class. Christopher volunteered his father, and DiGiacomo came to give a talk to the class.

"The students sat quietly and on the edge of their seats, mesmerized," his son said. "They were impressed and my dad liked interacting with the students.

"At his lecture, I saw my dad in a different light; I realized what a ‘natural’ he was at teaching. I was so proud of him. He got invited back every year to talk. That development ignited his passion for teaching.”

Mary Brewster, chairwoman of the Criminal Justice Department at West Chester University, said: “He was a well-loved colleague, valued by everyone in the department and very professional in his behavior. Students liked him so much because he could synthesize his extensive law enforcement experience with academic concepts. Al mentored so many students with law enforcement aspirations.”

DiGiacomo is survived by his wife Susan; his son, Christopher, wife Meaghan, twin granddaughters, Abigail and Isabelle, and siblings Judith Ann DiGiacomo, Maryanne Kurtz (Chick), Louis A. DiGiacomo (Susan), and Diana Capirano, and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

After graduating from St. Joseph Preparatory School in 1966 at the age of 16, DiGiacomo aspired to be a police officer.

To ensure the continuity of his father’s funeral home business should anything unforeseen happen to his father, he attended The Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He obtained his funeral director’s license in 1969.

DiGiacomo later graduated from the Philadelphia Police Academy on December 7, 1970. In 1980, he completed his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Temple University.

Relatives, friends, members of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, The Delaware Valley Chiefs of Police Association, and faculty at West Chester University, are invited to attend his visitation Monday, Feb. 27, from 8:15 to 10:15 a.m at Louis A. DiGiacomo Funeral Home, Inc., 1055 Southampton Road, Philadelphia, followed by his concelebrated funeral mass t 11 a.m. at St. Christopher Church, 13301 Proctor Road, Philadelphia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Delaware Valley Association of Professional Police Officials, c/o The Legion of Excellence Award, 1760 South Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18901, or Tunnel to Towers Foundation at t2t.org.
Share memories at www.DiGiacomoFuneralHome.com