Legendary NYPD Detective Sgt. Joseph Coffey Dies At 77

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Legendary NYPD Detective Sgt. Joseph Coffey, who worked on some of the city's most high-profile cases, died Sunday of lung cancer.

He was 77.

Coffey knew he wanted to be a police officer since he was a boy, and was later described by many as one of the greatest detectives the department ever had.

In his 21 years with the NYPD, Coffey worked on several notorious cases, such as the "Son of Sam" murders, the 1978 Lufthansa heist and various mob cases, including John Gotti and Paul Castellano.

"He went into the NYPD because his dad was almost murdered by the mob," his widow, Susan, told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria. "He went in, he vowed that he would catch these guys, lock them up, and that's how he started."

Coffey's father was a union organizer who tried to stop the mob from infiltrating the union, and someone shot at his truck when Coffey was 10 years old.

Coffey tracked the "Son of Sam" serial killer's movements and was the first to interview David Berkowitz after his arrest.

Susan said Coffey pitied Berkowitz.

"He said that the guy was just crazy and that he did it alone -- it wasn't a clan of people doing it, it wasn't the dog who made him do it," she said.

On Dec. 11, 1978, $5 million in cash and $1 million in jewels was stolen from the Lufthansa vaults at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in one of the largest cash thefts in American history.

The money was never recovered.

"The standard joke between us always was, 'I'm on a treasure hunt, honey,'" Susan recalled.

She said Coffey worked each case as if he was personally affected and did it with the utmost integrity. Whenever someone criticized Coffey for being a publicity hound, he believed they were just jealous, Susan said.

Coffey's funeral will be Friday at St. Monica's Church on East 79th Street