As the long and busy final day of New Jersey's legislative session was coming to a close, most lawmakers were preparing to head home for a few hours of sleep before the new session got under way.



But in a matter of moments, everything changed.



The Assembly and state Senate members, along with their aides and other staffers, stood stunned as they learned that Assembly Republican leader Alex DeCroce had collapsed and died around 11 p.m. Monday in a men's room at the Statehouse. They had been working with the 75-year-old lawmaker all evening as the Legislature wrapped up its session with a flurry of last-minute bills, and one of his final acts as the GOP leader was to accuse Democrats of casting votes for an absent member.



The death threw into turmoil the Legislature's reorganization plans for Tuesday and caused Gov. Chris Christie to delay his annual state-of-the-state address. The Assembly and Senate greatly scaled back swearing-in ceremonies for new members. Christie planned to deliver remarks about DeCroce on the floor of the Assembly in lieu of his scheduled address.



Assemblyman Herb Conaway, the Legislature's only physician, attended to DeCroce at the scene, but it was too late. DeCroce was soon declared dead, and Christie, a fellow Republican and personal friend of DeCroce for 20 years, confirmed the death two hours later.



Christie this statement regarding the passing of his mentor, colleague and friend:



“I lost a dear friend, colleague, and mentor – Assembly Republican Leader Alex De Croce. I have known Alex for nearly twenty years. He helped to give me my start in elective politics in Morris County in 1993. He was one of the most kind, considerate, and trustworthy people I have ever had the pleasure to know. He was an enormously accomplished legislator and a tremendous servant to the people of New Jersey. Mary Pat and I offer our most heartfelt condolences to his wife, Department of Community Affairs Deputy Commissioner Betty Lou de Croce, and to Alex’s entire family. This is an enormous loss for our state and for me personally."



A cause of death was not immediately known.

