NJ defense attorney tragically dies during scuba diving expedition

🔴 Defense attorney dies during shipwreck salvage dive

🔴 Partner remembers him for his "extraordinary life"

🔴 His crew went on many salvage operations over the past 15 years

A criminal defense attorney from New Jersey has unexpectedly died while leading a shipwreck salvage operation roughly 200 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Joseph Mazraani, a member of a New Brunswick law firm, dived from the deck of the Tenacious on July 29.

According to his company, Atlantic Wreck Salvage, Mazraani suffered a fatal medical emergency during the dive.

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Mazraani's team pulled him back onto the deck and performed CPR in an attempt to revive him, Dive Magazine reported.

They do not believe that any diver error or equipment malfunction was involved.

Diver, lawyer remembered for living a full life

Mazraani received an outpouring of love from throughout New Jersey, including from the Sayreville Historical Society, the Long Island Divers Association, and state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, among others.

The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender said Mazraani was a "cherished member of the legal and diving communities."

"Joe was larger than life: fearless, kind, and deeply committed to justice," the office said.

Jennifer Sellitti, Mazraani's partner and a public defender, was aboard the vessel during the fateful salvage operation. She was also co-owner of AWS.

In a Facebook post, Sellittii said that their scuba exploration trips were a way of life for them.

"Joe understood better than anyone that life offers no guarantees. He lived every moment fully, without compromise. He did not want to die doing what he loved — none of us do. He wanted to survive it, to grow old doing it. But when you live at the edge, sometimes the edge pushes back," Sellitti said.

The company's website, which documents its salvage operations over the last 15 years, will remain up to carry on the legacy of Mazraani's "extraordinary life," Selitti said.

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