Wake/Funeral for Nassau Cop Killed on LIE to be Held in Ronkonkoma

The Nassau County cop who was killed in a crash on the Long Island Expressway Thursday will be remembered in Ronkonkoma this weekend. 

The wake for Joseph P. Olivieri, a Ronkonkoma native, will be held at the Ronkonkoma Fire Department on Saturday from 7-9 p.m. and Sunday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. 

A funeral will be held Monday at St. Joseph's R.C. Church in Ronkonkoma at noon. 

Olivieri, 43, a 19-year veteran of law enforcement, was killed responding to a disabled motorist at exit 35 of the Long Island Expressway in North Hills early Thursday. He was struck by a 2002 Cadillac Escalade travelling eastbound in the HOV lane. 

A 25-year-old Oakdale man, James Ryan, was arraigned Friday morning on charges that he was allegedly responsible for the two early-morning crashes that resulted in Olivieri's death.  

Ryan is charged with one count of second degree vehicular manslaughter and two counts of second degree reckless endangerment. In addition, Ryan faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated and leaving an incident without a report. 

Olivieri, who is survived by his two children, Amanda, 21, and Daniel, 18, spent five years with the NYPD before joining the Nassau County Police Department in 1998 and becoming a member of the highway patrol in 2005.

“He was an exemplary police officer,” Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said of Olivieri Thursday while ordering all county flags to be flown at half-staff for the next 30 days. “It’s a tragic day for our great county.”