By KEITH PHUCAS
Times Herald Staff

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COURTHOUSE – Montgomery County Sheriff John P. Durante, a distinguished forensic investigator for the county for many years, died Wednesday morning of heart failure. He was 60.

He passed away around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning and was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at his home in Conshohocken. His wife, Maria, was at his side.

Durante, who had been sheriff since 2000, was a renowned fingerprints expert and inducted into the Pennsylvania Police Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also well known for his charity work.

Family, friends and colleagues were stunned at the news of his death.

Durante headed up the Detective Bureau’s forensic unit when former District Attorney Michael D. Marino served from 1988 to 1999.

“It’s a shame,” Marino said, when reached by phone Wednesday.

Marino recalled the former detective rooting through “100 yards of trash” in an effort to find evidence during one criminal investigation.

“He was absolutely amazing,” he said.

Durante was instrumental in solving the murders of two Temple professors of Islamic studies in Cheltenham by finding a pair of latex gloves at the crime scene getting a fingerprint.

“John lifted a print from the inside of the rubber gloves,” he said. “John solved that case.”

In 2002, after talking to his contacts in law enforcement, Durante traveled to a Staten Island landfill and retrieved debris from the World Trade Center’s North Tower, destroyed in the 2001 terrorist attacks, for a memorial dedicated at the Montgomery County Court House two years later: A large pair of bronze hands lifting an I-beam fragment skyward.

Sheriff’s Solicitor Thomas J. Speers knew Durante for many years, and called him a trusted friend.

“It was a real shock, he was a great guy,” he said.

Speers had helped his friend out in his wine cellar and spent days out of the sheriff’s boat fishing with him. He also praised Durante for his willingness to help those in need.

In an e-mail message he wrote, “the public John Durante was a great man, but I can tell you that the private John was even greater.”

In December 2007, Joseph V. Giongo was charged with killing his wife, Bernadette Giongo, in their Conshohocken home.

Days later, Durante and Times Herald editors Cheryl Rodgers and Stan Huskey organized a fundraising effort for the couple’s three sons – Shane, Collin and Quinn Giongo.

Last year, Durante received the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2009 for creating the Child Victim Fund that raised $106,332.30 for the Giongo boys’ college fund.

Former DA Bruce L. Castor Jr., too, expressed sadness about Durante’s death, and praised his forensic expertise, human spirit and humility.

“John and I worked together in various capacities for nearly 25 years,” Castor noted  in a written statement. “He was a professional lawman, an expert in “CSI” when no one in the public even knew the term. John helped put away many of the county’s worst criminals, and did so without fanfare or desire for recognition. It was an honor to run for office with John in 1999 alongside our other DA’s Office colleague Mike Marino, and to have served in elective office with him for 10 years. He brought stature to the Sheriff’s Department and had the respect of his peers and many friends. Above all, John had a heart of gold. We will miss him.”

Times Herald Editor Stan Huskey, who worked with Durante on the Giongo charity, talked to the sheriff just hours before he died.

“I was stunned and saddened to hear the news of John’s passing. I was just on the phone with him (Tuesday) night,” Huskey said. “We were talking about getting some money together to get some clothes for a student who was living in a shelter. Classic John, he said just go out and buy him a $100 worth of clothes. I’ll take care of it.”

Huskey, who called Durante “a reluctant politician,” said the college fund for the Giongo sons began with a simple telephone call seeking money to buy Christmas gifts for them.

“A couple of years ago after a tragedy in Conshohocken, I called John (Durante) and said I wanted to get together a few hundred dollars so we could buy some Christmas presents for the Giongo boys,” he recalled. “He called me back a couple of hours later and said, ‘You have $2,000.’ He called a couple of hours after that and said, ‘You have $3,000.’ When all was said and done, he helped raise more than $100,000 for the family.”

Ciavarelli Family Funeral Home in Conshohocken is handling funeral arrangements.