‘Larger than life’ shipwreck explorer dies during deep-sea diving expedition

A dive boat captain and shipwreck explorer died last week during a deep-sea diving expedition off the coast of Massachusetts, his dive company said Friday.

Joe Mazraani, 48, was diving about 200 miles offshore on the eastern edge of Georges Bank to explore a shipwreck his team called the Big Engine Steamer when he died on July 29, Atlantic Wreck Salvage said in a statement on Facebook. 

There was no reason to suspect diver error or equipment failure, the company said, noting that all indications pointed to a medical emergency. The company said a full investigation into Mazraani’s death was ongoing.

“Joe Mazraani was larger than life,” his wife and business partner, Jennifer Sellitti, wrote. “He was kind, compassionate, and generous. A mentor and a student, a friend, brother, son, and partner. Whether motoring aboard D/V Tenacious, diving into deep and dangerous water, or defending his clients in court, Joe demanded the best of everyone around him. Sometimes he demanded it grumpily—but he always demanded by example.”

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Sellitti, a prominent public defender in New Jersey, also co-owned Atlantic Wreck Salvage with Mazraani, who was also a criminal defense attorney.

“I loved Joe fiercely, and he loved me back just the same,” Sellitti wrote. “We were partners in everything—especially this.”

Mazraani was born in Lebanon and immigrated to the U.S. at 15 years old, according to his company’s website. He became a certified diver in the mid-1990s, “diving sunken wrecks off the Northeast U.S. coast and instantly developed an obsession with exploring the sunken hulks that litter the approaches to New York Harbor,” his bio reads.

He also led diving expeditions to the Italian liner SS Andrea Doria, and has dived the wrecks of HMHS Britannic – sister ship of the Titanic – and RMS Lusitania, according to the website.

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As a defense attorney, Mazraani helped free Timothy Puskas in 2024 after Puskas had been wrongfully convicted of murder in the death of 22-year-old former Rutgers student William McCaw. Puskas had served 10 years of a 40-year sentence when Mazraani secured his exoneration.

The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender posted a statement online in remembrance of Mazraani. 

“Joe was larger than life: fearless, kind, and deeply committed to justice,” the statement said. “Our hearts are with the Public Defender and his loved ones.”