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There is nothing in there that surprises me in the least. DisGUSTS me maybe, but doesn't surprise me...
A Fallen Hero - Video Inside
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City Council backs James Zadroga bill to help sick 9/11 responders
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/07/2008-02-07_city_council_backs_james_zadroga_bill_to-2.html
BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Thursday, February 7th 2008, 4:00 AM
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pushed Wednesday for speedy passage of a federal bill to help sick 9/11 responders and other victims of its "toxic cloud."
The bill is named for the late James Zadroga, 34, the former NYPD detective who died of lung and brain damage that a New Jersey medical examiner "directly" linked to his more than 450 hours of work at Ground Zero.
City officials dispute that Zadroga's death was caused by inhaling dust at Ground Zero after 9/11. He died in January 2006.
Quinn said the Council was set to pass a resolution calling on Congress to swiftly enact "this lifesaving piece of legislation."
"It isn't just something we want," Quinn said. "It's something we need and it's something we deserve."
Supporters of the resolution include Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) and Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens), chief sponsors of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
They contended Washington has "a national responsibility" to care for ongoing victims of "a national attack."
The legislation would pay for the monitoring and treatment of anyone - including volunteers, residents, area workers and others - who is ill, or becomes ill, as a result of exposure to the toxins of Ground Zero. It would also reopen the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
"I feel that we're getting momentum," Maloney said. "I think we're going to pass this thing."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/07/2008-02-07_city_council_backs_james_zadroga_bill_to-2.html
BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Thursday, February 7th 2008, 4:00 AM
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pushed Wednesday for speedy passage of a federal bill to help sick 9/11 responders and other victims of its "toxic cloud."
The bill is named for the late James Zadroga, 34, the former NYPD detective who died of lung and brain damage that a New Jersey medical examiner "directly" linked to his more than 450 hours of work at Ground Zero.
City officials dispute that Zadroga's death was caused by inhaling dust at Ground Zero after 9/11. He died in January 2006.
Quinn said the Council was set to pass a resolution calling on Congress to swiftly enact "this lifesaving piece of legislation."
"It isn't just something we want," Quinn said. "It's something we need and it's something we deserve."
Supporters of the resolution include Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) and Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens), chief sponsors of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
They contended Washington has "a national responsibility" to care for ongoing victims of "a national attack."
The legislation would pay for the monitoring and treatment of anyone - including volunteers, residents, area workers and others - who is ill, or becomes ill, as a result of exposure to the toxins of Ground Zero. It would also reopen the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
"I feel that we're getting momentum," Maloney said. "I think we're going to pass this thing."
John Feal On 2/16/2008 Money Bomb
Video
Click Here (GooTube)
www.fealgoodfoundation.com
www.1stresponders1st.com
Video
Click Here (GooTube)
www.fealgoodfoundation.com
www.1stresponders1st.com
Illness-stricken 9/11 workers, families planning protest in Washington
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/15/2008-02-15_illnessstricken_911_workers_families_pla.html
BY ADAM NICHOLS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, February 15th 2008, 4:00 AM
A convoy of heroes - Ground Zero first-responders and their families - will travel later this month to Capitol Hill to demand government not turn its back on them.
Busloads of cancer victims and people crippled by breathing problems and horrific injuries will make the 250-mile trek to Washington to protest a planned slash in health care funding and to demand support from the next President.
"I would think when they see us, they will have to do the right thing," said AnneMarie Baumann, 42, whose husband Chris was an NYPD officer blinded on 9/11.
She, her husband and their two teenage children will join more than 300 people expected at the Feb. 26 rally.
"Morally and ethically, how could they ignore what is happening to these people?" said Baumann.
Buses will pick up the first-responders in Manhattan, Long Island and New Jersey, and drive them to the nation's capital on Feb. 25. The next day they'll rally outside Congress.
Planned meetings with specific representatives are still being arranged.
"We want to implore our new President to make 9/11 health care an issue," said John Feal, a Ground Zero volunteer whose foot was crushed by an 8-ton steel beam.
His FealGood Foundation, set up to draw attention to the health problems of Ground Zero workers, organized the trip after Congress cut health care funding by 77%.
Only $25 million has been budgeted for 2009, down from $108 million this year, he said.
"The bottom line is, human life has taken a backseat to economics," said Feal. "It's an insult.
"Six years ago, the government vowed to help us. Now these heroes have been kicked when they were down and told to go away. A lot of people in Congress are championing our cause, but they need help and they're not getting it. We want to convince the government to help."
Another traveler is Joe Zadroga. His son James, a 13-year NYPD veteran, died of pulmonary fibrosis his family claims was linked to his work at Ground Zero.
"I feel duty-bound to be there because of my son," he said.
"It's emotional to be involved, but it's my main objective. To get health care for these heroes."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/15/2008-02-15_illnessstricken_911_workers_families_pla.html
BY ADAM NICHOLS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, February 15th 2008, 4:00 AM
A convoy of heroes - Ground Zero first-responders and their families - will travel later this month to Capitol Hill to demand government not turn its back on them.
Busloads of cancer victims and people crippled by breathing problems and horrific injuries will make the 250-mile trek to Washington to protest a planned slash in health care funding and to demand support from the next President.
"I would think when they see us, they will have to do the right thing," said AnneMarie Baumann, 42, whose husband Chris was an NYPD officer blinded on 9/11.
She, her husband and their two teenage children will join more than 300 people expected at the Feb. 26 rally.
"Morally and ethically, how could they ignore what is happening to these people?" said Baumann.
Buses will pick up the first-responders in Manhattan, Long Island and New Jersey, and drive them to the nation's capital on Feb. 25. The next day they'll rally outside Congress.
Planned meetings with specific representatives are still being arranged.
"We want to implore our new President to make 9/11 health care an issue," said John Feal, a Ground Zero volunteer whose foot was crushed by an 8-ton steel beam.
His FealGood Foundation, set up to draw attention to the health problems of Ground Zero workers, organized the trip after Congress cut health care funding by 77%.
Only $25 million has been budgeted for 2009, down from $108 million this year, he said.
"The bottom line is, human life has taken a backseat to economics," said Feal. "It's an insult.
"Six years ago, the government vowed to help us. Now these heroes have been kicked when they were down and told to go away. A lot of people in Congress are championing our cause, but they need help and they're not getting it. We want to convince the government to help."
Another traveler is Joe Zadroga. His son James, a 13-year NYPD veteran, died of pulmonary fibrosis his family claims was linked to his work at Ground Zero.
"I feel duty-bound to be there because of my son," he said.
"It's emotional to be involved, but it's my main objective. To get health care for these heroes."
Fallen 9/11 hero's dad raises funds
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/17/2008-02-17_fallen_911_heros_dad_raises_funds.html
BY ELAINE RAMIREZ and ADAM NICHOLS
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Sunday, February 17th 2008, 4:00 AM
It would have been his son's 36th birthday.
The father of Ground Zero hero James Zadroga honored his son's memory Saturday by raising cash for other 9/11 firstresponders crippled by health problems.
"This is what Jimmy would have wanted," said Joseph Zadroga, who blames a toxic cloud for the lung and brain damage that killed his son.
"He wanted us to get help for other people out there," said the father, who joined other campaigners outside the PATH station at Ground Zero.
Former NYPD Detective James Zadroga spent 450 hours inhaling dust in the aftermath of 9/11 and died in January 2006.
Though a New Jersey medical examiner said his sickness was linked "directly" to his work at the site, city officials dispute the findings.
He left behind a daughter, Tylerann, who is now 6 and lives with her grandparents.
"She asks me how come bad people stay alive, but heroes die?" Joseph Zadroga said as he greeted passersby and commuters.
He encouraged them to donate to the FealGood Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports sick first responders.
"What better way to celebrate an American hero?" said Charles Giles, an EMT on 9/11 who is also sick.
The FealGood Foundation is planning to take three busloads of first responders and their families to Washington on Feb. 26 for a rally demanding better medical care.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/17/2008-02-17_fallen_911_heros_dad_raises_funds.html
BY ELAINE RAMIREZ and ADAM NICHOLS
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Sunday, February 17th 2008, 4:00 AM
It would have been his son's 36th birthday.
The father of Ground Zero hero James Zadroga honored his son's memory Saturday by raising cash for other 9/11 firstresponders crippled by health problems.
"This is what Jimmy would have wanted," said Joseph Zadroga, who blames a toxic cloud for the lung and brain damage that killed his son.
"He wanted us to get help for other people out there," said the father, who joined other campaigners outside the PATH station at Ground Zero.
Former NYPD Detective James Zadroga spent 450 hours inhaling dust in the aftermath of 9/11 and died in January 2006.
Though a New Jersey medical examiner said his sickness was linked "directly" to his work at the site, city officials dispute the findings.
He left behind a daughter, Tylerann, who is now 6 and lives with her grandparents.
"She asks me how come bad people stay alive, but heroes die?" Joseph Zadroga said as he greeted passersby and commuters.
He encouraged them to donate to the FealGood Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports sick first responders.
"What better way to celebrate an American hero?" said Charles Giles, an EMT on 9/11 who is also sick.
The FealGood Foundation is planning to take three busloads of first responders and their families to Washington on Feb. 26 for a rally demanding better medical care.
Heroes - or victims?
In an exclusive extract from her analysis of 9/11, The Terror Dream, Susan Faludi looks at the role the firefighters really played
http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,2257710,00.html
Monday February 18, 2008
The Guardian
In the end, the character actors who won the 9/11 hero sweepstakes were the New York City firemen. Their uniforms and the direction in which they were heading provided a clear demarcation between them, the heroes, and the office workers, the victims. The secretaries and financial brokers ran down the stairs; the firemen ran up - 343 of them to their deaths. Conveniently for the mythmakers, less than 0.3% of New York's firefighters were women. There would be no need to rewrite the gender roles in this drama. The adulation began at once.
In our "different kind of war", these uniformed men were assigned the role of our new supersoldiers. "These are the men who will fight our wars," President Bush intoned, after posing with the firefighters at the smouldering ruins, as if he were their commanding officer. "These men are fighting the first battle," Mayor Giuliani declared. In fact, he maintained, they had already won it. "Our firefighters helped save more than 25,000 lives that day - the greatest single rescue mission in America's history." That was a claim the surviving firefighters themselves would regard as preposterous. Of the 16,000 to 18,000 occupants of the World Trade Centre that day, 95% of those who died were on the upper floors, beyond reach of rescue, and most of those on the lower floors rescued themselves without uniformed help. The grim truth is that the human toll would have been significantly lower had the firefighters never entered the buildings.
"We were just as much victims as everybody that was in the building," Derek Brogan of Engine Five said in his personal account, one of more than 500 oral histories the fire department amassed. James Murphy put it this way: "We were just victims, too. Basically, the only difference between us and the victims is, we had flashlights."
Flashlights and non-working radios. The firefighters entered the World Trade Centre armed with 15-year-old radios that were well known to malfunction in high-rise buildings. When the South Tower fell, the firefighters in the North Tower had no idea what had happened. When the fire chief radioed a Mayday order to evacuate the North Tower, almost none of the firefighters heard it. In the words of a 2005 National Institute of Standards and Technology study, "the evidence indicates that emergency responders' lives were likely lost [as a result of] lack of timely information and inadequate communication capabilities". Firefighters made the same point in their oral history accounts; they said they were "clueless" and knew "absolutely nothing" of what was going on outside.
These oral histories were repressed for three and a half years; the mayor's office refused to make them public and relented only after an order from the state's highest court. A year before their release, the former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, testifed at a 9/11 commission hearing that plenty of firefighters heard the Mayday order but chose to stay and help civilians. "And the fact that so many of them interpreted it that way, kept a much calmer situation," he started to say, before being cut off by outraged firefighter families in the audience:
Unidentified female: No!
Unidentified female: No!
Unidentified male: Radios!
Giuliani: And these people -
Unidentified male: Talk about the radios!
Giuliani: These people -
Unidentified male: Radios!
Unidentified male: Talk about the radio!
Thomas Kean, 9/11 commission chairman: Would you please ask -
Unidentified female: My son was murdered! Murdered because of incompetence, and the radios didn't work.
The firefighter families' efforts to get at the truth were shunted aside. The myth of effective rescue soon became an unassailable and sacred truth. When Terry Golway, city editor of the New York Observer, published his 368-page homage to the FDNY in 2002, So Others Might Live, he began the prologue with this sentence: "343 members of the Fire Department of New York died on September 11 2001, while taking part in one of the most successful rescue efforts in history."
In an exclusive extract from her analysis of 9/11, The Terror Dream, Susan Faludi looks at the role the firefighters really played
http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,2257710,00.html
Monday February 18, 2008
The Guardian
In the end, the character actors who won the 9/11 hero sweepstakes were the New York City firemen. Their uniforms and the direction in which they were heading provided a clear demarcation between them, the heroes, and the office workers, the victims. The secretaries and financial brokers ran down the stairs; the firemen ran up - 343 of them to their deaths. Conveniently for the mythmakers, less than 0.3% of New York's firefighters were women. There would be no need to rewrite the gender roles in this drama. The adulation began at once.
In our "different kind of war", these uniformed men were assigned the role of our new supersoldiers. "These are the men who will fight our wars," President Bush intoned, after posing with the firefighters at the smouldering ruins, as if he were their commanding officer. "These men are fighting the first battle," Mayor Giuliani declared. In fact, he maintained, they had already won it. "Our firefighters helped save more than 25,000 lives that day - the greatest single rescue mission in America's history." That was a claim the surviving firefighters themselves would regard as preposterous. Of the 16,000 to 18,000 occupants of the World Trade Centre that day, 95% of those who died were on the upper floors, beyond reach of rescue, and most of those on the lower floors rescued themselves without uniformed help. The grim truth is that the human toll would have been significantly lower had the firefighters never entered the buildings.
"We were just as much victims as everybody that was in the building," Derek Brogan of Engine Five said in his personal account, one of more than 500 oral histories the fire department amassed. James Murphy put it this way: "We were just victims, too. Basically, the only difference between us and the victims is, we had flashlights."
Flashlights and non-working radios. The firefighters entered the World Trade Centre armed with 15-year-old radios that were well known to malfunction in high-rise buildings. When the South Tower fell, the firefighters in the North Tower had no idea what had happened. When the fire chief radioed a Mayday order to evacuate the North Tower, almost none of the firefighters heard it. In the words of a 2005 National Institute of Standards and Technology study, "the evidence indicates that emergency responders' lives were likely lost [as a result of] lack of timely information and inadequate communication capabilities". Firefighters made the same point in their oral history accounts; they said they were "clueless" and knew "absolutely nothing" of what was going on outside.
These oral histories were repressed for three and a half years; the mayor's office refused to make them public and relented only after an order from the state's highest court. A year before their release, the former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, testifed at a 9/11 commission hearing that plenty of firefighters heard the Mayday order but chose to stay and help civilians. "And the fact that so many of them interpreted it that way, kept a much calmer situation," he started to say, before being cut off by outraged firefighter families in the audience:
Unidentified female: No!
Unidentified female: No!
Unidentified male: Radios!
Giuliani: And these people -
Unidentified male: Talk about the radios!
Giuliani: These people -
Unidentified male: Radios!
Unidentified male: Talk about the radio!
Thomas Kean, 9/11 commission chairman: Would you please ask -
Unidentified female: My son was murdered! Murdered because of incompetence, and the radios didn't work.
The firefighter families' efforts to get at the truth were shunted aside. The myth of effective rescue soon became an unassailable and sacred truth. When Terry Golway, city editor of the New York Observer, published his 368-page homage to the FDNY in 2002, So Others Might Live, he began the prologue with this sentence: "343 members of the Fire Department of New York died on September 11 2001, while taking part in one of the most successful rescue efforts in history."
WTC First Responders To Rally In Washington D.C.
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=203&aid=78781
February 25, 2008
World Trade Center first responders and their families are heading to D.C. to continue fighting for health care.
Nearly 200 first responders are heading to Capitol Hill to hold a rally Tuesday protesting major cuts to their health care.
They say the government slashed the budget for 9/11 health care from $108 million to $25 million for the next fiscal year. The workers say they deserve better care after exposing themselves to toxic air.
"We're not going to stand for being cut out of the budget by 77 percent,” said John Feal, founder of the Fealgood Foundation. “It's not adequate and it’s an insult.”
“If I got hurt in Afghanistan, my family and I would be covered, but since I got hurt in Manhattan we're not,” said WTC construction worker Thomas Magee.
Many first responders are also pushing congress to pass the James Zadroga bill which would ensure that everyone exposed to toxins at Ground Zero has proper medical care.
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=203&aid=78781
February 25, 2008
World Trade Center first responders and their families are heading to D.C. to continue fighting for health care.
Nearly 200 first responders are heading to Capitol Hill to hold a rally Tuesday protesting major cuts to their health care.
They say the government slashed the budget for 9/11 health care from $108 million to $25 million for the next fiscal year. The workers say they deserve better care after exposing themselves to toxic air.
"We're not going to stand for being cut out of the budget by 77 percent,” said John Feal, founder of the Fealgood Foundation. “It's not adequate and it’s an insult.”
“If I got hurt in Afghanistan, my family and I would be covered, but since I got hurt in Manhattan we're not,” said WTC construction worker Thomas Magee.
Many first responders are also pushing congress to pass the James Zadroga bill which would ensure that everyone exposed to toxins at Ground Zero has proper medical care.
Fighting for health care
http://media.www.nyunews.com/media/storage/paper869/news/2008/02/26/Citystate/Fighting.For.Health.Care-3234724.shtml
Emma Davis
2/26/2008
With two plastic bags full of medication bottles, a picture of him working at the World Trade Center site just hours after the collapse of the towers and the construction mask that served as his only protection that day, Daniel Moynihan boarded a bus yesterday to go to Washington, D.C.
And today, he hopes to stand in front of Congress and tell them that he - and hundreds of others like him - need help.
"I'm sick and getting sicker," said Moynihan, a first-respondent volunteer firefighter. "Our health care funding needs to be restored."
Six years after the tragedy, many of the first responders at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11 are now facing respiratory problems and are developing cancers after being exposed to the toxins and rubble at ground zero. So yesterday, dozens of Sept. 11 heroes like Moynihan piled into two buses and traveled from Manhattan to Washington, D.C. to advocate health benefits.
Today they are rallying at Capitol Hill and meeting with congressmen to discuss their health care funding, which Congress cut by 77 percent in the 2009 federal budget proposal.
The trip was co-organized by the FealGood Foundation, established by crippled first respondent John Feal to raise awareness about the health issues faced by the World Trade Center workers. Health advocacy group 9/11 Health Now, based in Babylon, N.Y., also helped plan the lobbying trip.
"It's a crisis," said 9/11 Health Now member Claire Calladine, who helped lead the Manhattan group to Washington, D.C. "We're talking about the decimation of thousands of families that stepped up for their country and are now being ignored."
And the demands are simple: affordable health care.
On board the bus was Minna Barrett, a chief psychologist with the Red Cross 9/11 Workers Project.
"The federal government needs to recognize its responsibility to the health of the respondents," Barrett said. "The anxiety about their long-term health doesn't go away."
But NYU students disagree about whether or not the government should fund the first respondents' care.
"Just because it's been almost seven years doesn't mean their problems have gone away," CAS freshman Christina Ng said. "If anything, an increase is fair for all they did."
However, Stern freshman Sooji Park pointed out that the government cannot fund everything.
"That's what health insurance is for," she said. "It's unfortunate, but the government doesn't have the kind of money to fund so many things."
NYU law professor Martin Guggenheim said the government is not legally bound to continue funding, but he added: "One could make a fair point that the money that would've gone to these victims has instead been given to the war in Iraq."
If all goes well for him today in Washington, D.C., Gabriel Bacino, another first responder, will receive the health care he needs.
"I live day by day," Bacino said. "We're going to try to tell them we need the money to support us, and some to stay alive."
http://media.www.nyunews.com/media/storage/paper869/news/2008/02/26/Citystate/Fighting.For.Health.Care-3234724.shtml
Emma Davis
2/26/2008
With two plastic bags full of medication bottles, a picture of him working at the World Trade Center site just hours after the collapse of the towers and the construction mask that served as his only protection that day, Daniel Moynihan boarded a bus yesterday to go to Washington, D.C.
And today, he hopes to stand in front of Congress and tell them that he - and hundreds of others like him - need help.
"I'm sick and getting sicker," said Moynihan, a first-respondent volunteer firefighter. "Our health care funding needs to be restored."
Six years after the tragedy, many of the first responders at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11 are now facing respiratory problems and are developing cancers after being exposed to the toxins and rubble at ground zero. So yesterday, dozens of Sept. 11 heroes like Moynihan piled into two buses and traveled from Manhattan to Washington, D.C. to advocate health benefits.
Today they are rallying at Capitol Hill and meeting with congressmen to discuss their health care funding, which Congress cut by 77 percent in the 2009 federal budget proposal.
The trip was co-organized by the FealGood Foundation, established by crippled first respondent John Feal to raise awareness about the health issues faced by the World Trade Center workers. Health advocacy group 9/11 Health Now, based in Babylon, N.Y., also helped plan the lobbying trip.
"It's a crisis," said 9/11 Health Now member Claire Calladine, who helped lead the Manhattan group to Washington, D.C. "We're talking about the decimation of thousands of families that stepped up for their country and are now being ignored."
And the demands are simple: affordable health care.
On board the bus was Minna Barrett, a chief psychologist with the Red Cross 9/11 Workers Project.
"The federal government needs to recognize its responsibility to the health of the respondents," Barrett said. "The anxiety about their long-term health doesn't go away."
But NYU students disagree about whether or not the government should fund the first respondents' care.
"Just because it's been almost seven years doesn't mean their problems have gone away," CAS freshman Christina Ng said. "If anything, an increase is fair for all they did."
However, Stern freshman Sooji Park pointed out that the government cannot fund everything.
"That's what health insurance is for," she said. "It's unfortunate, but the government doesn't have the kind of money to fund so many things."
NYU law professor Martin Guggenheim said the government is not legally bound to continue funding, but he added: "One could make a fair point that the money that would've gone to these victims has instead been given to the war in Iraq."
If all goes well for him today in Washington, D.C., Gabriel Bacino, another first responder, will receive the health care he needs.
"I live day by day," Bacino said. "We're going to try to tell them we need the money to support us, and some to stay alive."
Sick 9/11 first responders on trip to Washington
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/26/2008-02-26_sick_911_first_responders_on_trip_to_was.html
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 26th 2008, 4:00 AM
On a bus on I-95 - Dozens of sick 9/11 first responders rumbled down to the nation's capital Monday to do what they shouldn't have to: beg lawmakers to fund crucial programs that help pay their growing medical bills.
"I feel like a charity case," said Charles Giles, 40, who worked as an emergency medical technician for 16 years - including five months at Ground Zero. He got sick in 2002 and, after 13 separate hospitalizations, has had to sell his house to pay medical bills.
"[Sept. 11] has destroyed us," said Giles, of Toms River, N.J. "We gave our heart and souls on 9/11. What this government is doing to us now is a shame."
The bus ride was organized by the FealGood Foundation, a group founded by John Feal, a 9/11 volunteer whose foot was crushed by an 8-ton steel beam.
"This is like show and tell," Feal told the Daily News Monday. "For 6 1/2 years we've been neglected, denied and lied to."
He said New York's congressional delegation hasbeen helpful, but "the national delegation needs to see these people."
The group will hold a protest on Capitol Hill today to ask Congress to restore millions of dollars to programs like Healthcare for Heroes. Only $25 million has been earmarked for 2009 - compared with $108 million in 2008.
"If that closes, all of us are going to have to find other doctors and start all over and for some people, that will be too late," said Keith LeBow, a 44-year-old ironworker from Manhattan.
LeBow, who would have to spend about $2,000 a month on his medications alone without help from the government, said he went to Washington even though he has a hard time getting out of bed.
"They don't want to hear it anymore," he complained.
Joe Picurro, 40, an ironworker who is also from Toms River, walks with a cane now and takes about 35 pills a day.
"I'm ashamed that I have to go down to Congress to beg for money," he said.
The News, in a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials, has also fought for proper funding for the city's sick heroes.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/26/2008-02-26_sick_911_first_responders_on_trip_to_was.html
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 26th 2008, 4:00 AM
On a bus on I-95 - Dozens of sick 9/11 first responders rumbled down to the nation's capital Monday to do what they shouldn't have to: beg lawmakers to fund crucial programs that help pay their growing medical bills.
"I feel like a charity case," said Charles Giles, 40, who worked as an emergency medical technician for 16 years - including five months at Ground Zero. He got sick in 2002 and, after 13 separate hospitalizations, has had to sell his house to pay medical bills.
"[Sept. 11] has destroyed us," said Giles, of Toms River, N.J. "We gave our heart and souls on 9/11. What this government is doing to us now is a shame."
The bus ride was organized by the FealGood Foundation, a group founded by John Feal, a 9/11 volunteer whose foot was crushed by an 8-ton steel beam.
"This is like show and tell," Feal told the Daily News Monday. "For 6 1/2 years we've been neglected, denied and lied to."
He said New York's congressional delegation hasbeen helpful, but "the national delegation needs to see these people."
The group will hold a protest on Capitol Hill today to ask Congress to restore millions of dollars to programs like Healthcare for Heroes. Only $25 million has been earmarked for 2009 - compared with $108 million in 2008.
"If that closes, all of us are going to have to find other doctors and start all over and for some people, that will be too late," said Keith LeBow, a 44-year-old ironworker from Manhattan.
LeBow, who would have to spend about $2,000 a month on his medications alone without help from the government, said he went to Washington even though he has a hard time getting out of bed.
"They don't want to hear it anymore," he complained.
Joe Picurro, 40, an ironworker who is also from Toms River, walks with a cane now and takes about 35 pills a day.
"I'm ashamed that I have to go down to Congress to beg for money," he said.
The News, in a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials, has also fought for proper funding for the city's sick heroes.
9/11 responders demand health care funding
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-liwtc0227,0,4756300.story
BY CARL MACGOWAN | [email protected]
2/26/2008
WASHINGTON - Gregory Quibell already suffered from pulmonary fibrosis last October when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
He said yesterday he at first didn't think that the cancer was related to his cleanup work at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. But his doctor said it was, and now Quibell, 53, of North Babylon, wants the federal government to help him.
Quibell, a state correction worker, was one of several dozen 9/11 search and rescue workers who rallied yesterday at the Capitol building, angry that health services meant to help them face what they say are severe budget cuts.
"We stood behind this country," he said. "It's time for the country to stand behind us."
The Bush administration has proposed cutting 9/11-related health care programs by 77 percent in next year's budget, to $25 million from $108 million. The cuts would affect a program at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan designed for 9/11 workers, rally organizers said.
Bush proposed $25 million for the programs last year before Congress increased the spending, and Congress is expected to raise spending again this year, sources said. A spokeswoman for the federal Office of Management and Budget, Christin Baker, said $200 million remains in a fund for 9/11-related health care. The money is expected to last through next year, Baker said.
Amid an intermittent drizzle, 9/11 workers and a few dozen supporters chanted, "$25 million is not enough," and demanded that Congress restore the funding. They received support from four members of Congress, including Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), who called the proposed cuts "unconscionable."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) said 9/11 health care programs need $250 million to adequately serve those in need.
"When are we going to start helping the people who dropped what they were doing and went down to help?" Nadler said.
The rally was organized by the Fealgood Foundation and its founder, John Feal, 41, of Nesconset, who said a piece of steel crushed one of his feet when he was working on a demolition crew at the trade center. He said he faced foreclosure on his home after he was denied workers' compensation and Social Security benefits.
"I am one mad American," Feal told the crowd.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-liwtc0227,0,4756300.story
BY CARL MACGOWAN | [email protected]
2/26/2008
WASHINGTON - Gregory Quibell already suffered from pulmonary fibrosis last October when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
He said yesterday he at first didn't think that the cancer was related to his cleanup work at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. But his doctor said it was, and now Quibell, 53, of North Babylon, wants the federal government to help him.
Quibell, a state correction worker, was one of several dozen 9/11 search and rescue workers who rallied yesterday at the Capitol building, angry that health services meant to help them face what they say are severe budget cuts.
"We stood behind this country," he said. "It's time for the country to stand behind us."
The Bush administration has proposed cutting 9/11-related health care programs by 77 percent in next year's budget, to $25 million from $108 million. The cuts would affect a program at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan designed for 9/11 workers, rally organizers said.
Bush proposed $25 million for the programs last year before Congress increased the spending, and Congress is expected to raise spending again this year, sources said. A spokeswoman for the federal Office of Management and Budget, Christin Baker, said $200 million remains in a fund for 9/11-related health care. The money is expected to last through next year, Baker said.
Amid an intermittent drizzle, 9/11 workers and a few dozen supporters chanted, "$25 million is not enough," and demanded that Congress restore the funding. They received support from four members of Congress, including Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), who called the proposed cuts "unconscionable."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) said 9/11 health care programs need $250 million to adequately serve those in need.
"When are we going to start helping the people who dropped what they were doing and went down to help?" Nadler said.
The rally was organized by the Fealgood Foundation and its founder, John Feal, 41, of Nesconset, who said a piece of steel crushed one of his feet when he was working on a demolition crew at the trade center. He said he faced foreclosure on his home after he was denied workers' compensation and Social Security benefits.
"I am one mad American," Feal told the crowd.
Now Can We Talk About 9/11
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080226/cm_thenation/917290718
Tue Feb 26, 10:50 AM ET
The Nation -- While over its tenure, the Bush administration has increased baseline military spending by 30% to fight a global "war on terror," this month with the release of the President's last budget, Bush delivered a final, parting blow to 9/11 victims of terror at home.
According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the cost of treating sick ground zero workers has reached $195 million a year, a cost likely to expand. Nevertheless, Bush's proposed budget cuts 2009 funding for 9/11 healthcare to $25 million--a 77% drop from the previous year's appropriations.
Meanwhile this December, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt eliminated plans for the center that would treat the 10,000-plus First Responders suffering health problems as the result of their service after the attacks.
First Responders are rallying today on the West Lawn for Congressional action.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080226/cm_thenation/917290718
Tue Feb 26, 10:50 AM ET
The Nation -- While over its tenure, the Bush administration has increased baseline military spending by 30% to fight a global "war on terror," this month with the release of the President's last budget, Bush delivered a final, parting blow to 9/11 victims of terror at home.
According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the cost of treating sick ground zero workers has reached $195 million a year, a cost likely to expand. Nevertheless, Bush's proposed budget cuts 2009 funding for 9/11 healthcare to $25 million--a 77% drop from the previous year's appropriations.
Meanwhile this December, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt eliminated plans for the center that would treat the 10,000-plus First Responders suffering health problems as the result of their service after the attacks.
First Responders are rallying today on the West Lawn for Congressional action.
9/11 First Responders Rally In Washington D.C. - 2/26/2008
www.fealgoodfoundation.com
Part I
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Part VI
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www.fealgoodfoundation.com
Part I
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Part V
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Part VI
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The bell tolls for another hero of 9/11
'I'd do it again,' said NYPD sergeant from West Brighton about his work at the pile
http://www.silive.com/columnists/gordon/index.ssf?/base/opinion/120523864121840.xml&coll=1
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In this town, 9/11 never goes away.
Not for long, anyway.
This weekend's 9/11 story wasn't just that the "Survivors' Staircase" was moved from Ground Zero, to be returned someday as part of the memorial when the new buildings go up.
There was another reminder closer to home.
Staten Island lost NYPD Sgt. Ned Thompson at age 39 on Sunday morning, just hours before one of his favorite events, the St. Patrick's Parade, would step off a couple of blocks from his West Brighton home.
The father of four young girls, a superstar cop in the West Village, lost his battle for life in Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
And we lost another Islander who did what he knew to be the right thing in the hours after the Sept. 11 attacks, and who paid a terrible price.
Thompson was a first responder from the Sixth Precinct, just up West Street from the attack site. He worked the bucket brigades in the days following the building collapses, sifting the debris in hopes of finding survivors.
HACKING COUGH
He'd develop a hacking cough later on. Something unusual for a nonsmoker, the doctors said. Then, in December, he was finally diagnosed.
Cancer.
It's a story that has become familiar in this town.
And, after years of fumbling, the city has begun to accept responsibility for such illnesses.
"I'd do it again," Thompson told people of his work at Ground Zero.
And it makes you wonder how New Yorkers got so lucky as to deserve the Ned Thompsons of the world.
Thompson would have never made it as a Hollywood version of what a New York City cop should be. Oh, he looked the part all right. Big and burly, with an open Irish face. But Thompson didn't go in much for blustery attitudes or loud talk.
He was a quiet guy. Funny, in a clever, understated way. With humor befitting an English major out of Villanova University. But never crass.
"It just wasn't his way," said Lt. Mike Casey, Thompson's boss at the Sixth Precinct. "He was always the consummate professional. But if something had to be done, you called Ned. It got done."
He was the go-to guy the higher-ups asked to analyze crime stats. And to plan operations.
"He had a real feel for the work," said Casey. "He was so smart."
Thing was, because he was so cool under stress, Thompson was also the one the bosses would prefer to see leading a squad on the street, and going through the door on a search warrant.
A while back, an NYPD supervisor told a story of being at a meeting at One Police Plaza when Police Commissioner Ray Kelly singled out Thompson for personal recognition after his squad broke a big Manhattan-wide case.
In keeping with his personality, Thompson's family had never heard of his being so honored.
The young sergeant operated the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit for years in the West Village, supervising thousands of arrests and having a big hand in the latest round of drug clean-up chores at Washington Square Park.
He was very good at that sort of police work, too, it would turn out.
"If we had a few more guys with Ned's intelligence and drive, there wouldn't be any crime," Casey said, only half-jokingly.
A NICE WAY ABOUT HIM
For all his success at gritty police work, Thompson had such a nice way about him, there was just about no one better at personal interaction.
"You're the kind of person people want to emulate and be around," a friend wrote Thompson last week, in his final days. "The sight of you always evokes a smile."
Thompson and his wife, Justine, were at a supermarket checkout counter at the Jersey Shore a few years back when a scruffy guy behind them nudged the off-duty cop 50 miles from home.
"You're Big Nick from Washington Square Park, right?" the person said, using the handle the dealers in the West Village had hung on the cop from West Brighton.
"That's me," Thompson acknowledged.
"You locked me up," the former miscreant said. "But you were a really cool guy about it. Thanks."
Not many cops have the experience of being thanked by the people they put in cuffs. Thompson also had his priorities straight.
As much as he loved his work, he wanted to spend time with Justine and the four little girls. And he did.
Then there were his friends.
Legions of them.
Kids who grew up with Thompson in West Brighton, and shot hoops in his driveway. His college roomies from Villanova, where Thompson was one of the biggest sports fans on the pretty Lancaster Avenue campus.
His pals on the NYPD, the men and women with whom he shared pizzas at John's on Bleecker Street, or knocked down a beer or two at Fiddlesticks after a 4-to-12 tour of chasing the dealers off West Eighth Street.
They've all been revisited once more by 9/11.
"Since Ned's been sick, they've been trying to find someone to take over his job," Casey said yesterday. "The people who know him don't want to do it. They know what it's going to be like trying to fill his shoes."
'I'd do it again,' said NYPD sergeant from West Brighton about his work at the pile
http://www.silive.com/columnists/gordon/index.ssf?/base/opinion/120523864121840.xml&coll=1
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In this town, 9/11 never goes away.
Not for long, anyway.
This weekend's 9/11 story wasn't just that the "Survivors' Staircase" was moved from Ground Zero, to be returned someday as part of the memorial when the new buildings go up.
There was another reminder closer to home.
Staten Island lost NYPD Sgt. Ned Thompson at age 39 on Sunday morning, just hours before one of his favorite events, the St. Patrick's Parade, would step off a couple of blocks from his West Brighton home.
The father of four young girls, a superstar cop in the West Village, lost his battle for life in Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
And we lost another Islander who did what he knew to be the right thing in the hours after the Sept. 11 attacks, and who paid a terrible price.
Thompson was a first responder from the Sixth Precinct, just up West Street from the attack site. He worked the bucket brigades in the days following the building collapses, sifting the debris in hopes of finding survivors.
HACKING COUGH
He'd develop a hacking cough later on. Something unusual for a nonsmoker, the doctors said. Then, in December, he was finally diagnosed.
Cancer.
It's a story that has become familiar in this town.
And, after years of fumbling, the city has begun to accept responsibility for such illnesses.
"I'd do it again," Thompson told people of his work at Ground Zero.
And it makes you wonder how New Yorkers got so lucky as to deserve the Ned Thompsons of the world.
Thompson would have never made it as a Hollywood version of what a New York City cop should be. Oh, he looked the part all right. Big and burly, with an open Irish face. But Thompson didn't go in much for blustery attitudes or loud talk.
He was a quiet guy. Funny, in a clever, understated way. With humor befitting an English major out of Villanova University. But never crass.
"It just wasn't his way," said Lt. Mike Casey, Thompson's boss at the Sixth Precinct. "He was always the consummate professional. But if something had to be done, you called Ned. It got done."
He was the go-to guy the higher-ups asked to analyze crime stats. And to plan operations.
"He had a real feel for the work," said Casey. "He was so smart."
Thing was, because he was so cool under stress, Thompson was also the one the bosses would prefer to see leading a squad on the street, and going through the door on a search warrant.
A while back, an NYPD supervisor told a story of being at a meeting at One Police Plaza when Police Commissioner Ray Kelly singled out Thompson for personal recognition after his squad broke a big Manhattan-wide case.
In keeping with his personality, Thompson's family had never heard of his being so honored.
The young sergeant operated the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit for years in the West Village, supervising thousands of arrests and having a big hand in the latest round of drug clean-up chores at Washington Square Park.
He was very good at that sort of police work, too, it would turn out.
"If we had a few more guys with Ned's intelligence and drive, there wouldn't be any crime," Casey said, only half-jokingly.
A NICE WAY ABOUT HIM
For all his success at gritty police work, Thompson had such a nice way about him, there was just about no one better at personal interaction.
"You're the kind of person people want to emulate and be around," a friend wrote Thompson last week, in his final days. "The sight of you always evokes a smile."
Thompson and his wife, Justine, were at a supermarket checkout counter at the Jersey Shore a few years back when a scruffy guy behind them nudged the off-duty cop 50 miles from home.
"You're Big Nick from Washington Square Park, right?" the person said, using the handle the dealers in the West Village had hung on the cop from West Brighton.
"That's me," Thompson acknowledged.
"You locked me up," the former miscreant said. "But you were a really cool guy about it. Thanks."
Not many cops have the experience of being thanked by the people they put in cuffs. Thompson also had his priorities straight.
As much as he loved his work, he wanted to spend time with Justine and the four little girls. And he did.
Then there were his friends.
Legions of them.
Kids who grew up with Thompson in West Brighton, and shot hoops in his driveway. His college roomies from Villanova, where Thompson was one of the biggest sports fans on the pretty Lancaster Avenue campus.
His pals on the NYPD, the men and women with whom he shared pizzas at John's on Bleecker Street, or knocked down a beer or two at Fiddlesticks after a 4-to-12 tour of chasing the dealers off West Eighth Street.
They've all been revisited once more by 9/11.
"Since Ned's been sick, they've been trying to find someone to take over his job," Casey said yesterday. "The people who know him don't want to do it. They know what it's going to be like trying to fill his shoes."
9-11 Responders Dying of Neglect
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080311145637tsop.np/newsblaze/BOOKPUBL/Book-Publishing.html
3/12/2008
The U.S. government's continued refusal is causing a whole new class of victims to acknowledge illnesses caused by the toxic dusts and wastes at the Ground Zero site-according to a new book.
Steven Centore was one of the many who volunteered or were ordered to assist in the immediate aftermath of the attack on 9/11 and then during the eighteen-month long recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
Since that time, the dangerously toxic and debilitating conditions that these "first responders" toiled under has come to light. As these people become gravely ill and in some cases die their names may be added to the official list of victims of the 9-11 attack.
Mr. Centore has appeared at congressional hearings to fight for the rights of these thousands of first responders. In his new book, One of Them: A First Responder's Story, he details his own personal account.
"This has become a political football in the coming election that the administration has fumbled," said Mr. Centore, a life long Republican who has had a distinguished career in the U.S. Military and clandestine services.
"I've been a life-long republican, and for the first time in my history I'll probably be voting democratic."
Mr. Centore has been appalled at the callous indifference, lack of support, and the meager financial resources provided by the U.S. government.
"The attack didn't end on 9-11," said Mr. Centore. "The attack continues to this day as first responders suffer from the aftereffects. It's almost like radiation poisoning after a nuclear attack: first there are the initial victims and then there are those that are poisoned by the clouds of lethal dust."
"I wanted to tell my story of how I became ill, what the government did and did not do for me, and what happened to me as a result," says Mr. Centore. "I'd like to shed some light on the cover-ups that the government has been perpetrating in the news."
Steven talks with conviction of:
Steven Centore was a member of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). A nuclear physicist, Mr. Centore has also served in the U.S. Navy aboard nuclear attack submarines, and has worked at various nuclear facilities across the country.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080311145637tsop.np/newsblaze/BOOKPUBL/Book-Publishing.html
3/12/2008
The U.S. government's continued refusal is causing a whole new class of victims to acknowledge illnesses caused by the toxic dusts and wastes at the Ground Zero site-according to a new book.
Steven Centore was one of the many who volunteered or were ordered to assist in the immediate aftermath of the attack on 9/11 and then during the eighteen-month long recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
Since that time, the dangerously toxic and debilitating conditions that these "first responders" toiled under has come to light. As these people become gravely ill and in some cases die their names may be added to the official list of victims of the 9-11 attack.
Mr. Centore has appeared at congressional hearings to fight for the rights of these thousands of first responders. In his new book, One of Them: A First Responder's Story, he details his own personal account.
"This has become a political football in the coming election that the administration has fumbled," said Mr. Centore, a life long Republican who has had a distinguished career in the U.S. Military and clandestine services.
"I've been a life-long republican, and for the first time in my history I'll probably be voting democratic."
Mr. Centore has been appalled at the callous indifference, lack of support, and the meager financial resources provided by the U.S. government.
"The attack didn't end on 9-11," said Mr. Centore. "The attack continues to this day as first responders suffer from the aftereffects. It's almost like radiation poisoning after a nuclear attack: first there are the initial victims and then there are those that are poisoned by the clouds of lethal dust."
"I wanted to tell my story of how I became ill, what the government did and did not do for me, and what happened to me as a result," says Mr. Centore. "I'd like to shed some light on the cover-ups that the government has been perpetrating in the news."
Steven talks with conviction of:
- The growing number of people treated for illnesses due to toxic dust at Ground Zero
- How the government helped municipal first responders following 9-11, but are in complete denial of anyone else
- The deception, lies and cover-ups by the state, federal, and municipal governments.
Steven Centore was a member of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). A nuclear physicist, Mr. Centore has also served in the U.S. Navy aboard nuclear attack submarines, and has worked at various nuclear facilities across the country.
Environmental Illnesses Haunt Some Who Covered 9/11
Rescuers and construction workers aren't the only ones sickened by exposure to World Trade Center dust and smoke. Journalists, including photographers, are also reporting health problems.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003714645
By Daryl Lang
March 03, 2008
New York Times staff photographer Keith Meyers loved to tackle rigorous assignments, like flying in military jets and scuba diving with astronauts in training.
"He was almost hyper in terms of his energy level," says friend and fellow Times photographer Fred Conrad. "He could run circles around people."
On September 11, 2001, Meyers cut short a vacation and raced to New York to help with coverage at Ground Zero. Four days later, Meyers climbed aboard a Coast Guard helicopter to shoot a series of historic pictures, the first aerial news photos of the still-burning World Trade Center site.
As he leaned out of the helicopter, Meyers could feel the rising smoke.
"It was like breathing fire, and I could feel my skin tingling and burning," he says. A doctor later told him he probably had been exposed to chemicals as caustic as Drano.
Over the next two years, Meyers's health deteriorated. While covering the New York City blackout in 2003, he suffered several asthma attacks. His energy level diminished, and twice he nodded off behind the wheel while waiting at tollbooths.
Now 59, Meyers suffers from serious breathing problems. Treatment keeps many of his symptoms in check, but he can no longer do his job. He went on indefinite medical leave from The Times last year.
His diagnoses are like a catalogue of the illnesses that afflict 9/11 workers: asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disorder, paradoxical voice box disorder. On top of all that is a feeling of lost identity now that he has given up photojournalism.
"Not working is harder than being sick," he says. "And that's the battle I've got to fight, because I've got to be sure not to do anything to make myself sicker."
Meyers is not alone. Five other journalists have told PDN they suffer persistent health effects after working at the World Trade Center site, and a sixth has died of cancer. Two of them were unwilling to be named in this article, one for privacy reasons and another because of an ongoing lawsuit.
David Handschuh, a photographer for the New York Daily News, has been working with The New York Press Photographers Association (NYPPA) to make sure these journalists aren't forgotten.
Handschuh, 48, broke his leg covering the World Trade Center attack and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. "It's not a New York problem. It's a nationwide problem," Handschuh says when discussing 9/11 health concerns, emphasizing that many out-of-town journalists were part of the coverage.
First responders and construction workers who toiled in the toxic aftermath of 9/11 have been the subject of news reports, political speeches and prize-winning newspaper editorials. But little has been said about the journalists who were exposed to the same conditions.
Handschuh and the NYPPA are advocating for legislation in New York State to extend the deadline for journalists to file 9/11-related workers compensation claims. Last year state lawmakers extended the filing deadline for rescue and recovery workers to August 14, but there is no similar extension for journalists.
For environmental illnesses like asthma and cancer, proving a direct link between cause and effect is difficult. Certain cancers might not appear for decades.
But right now, some journalists are convinced their health problems are the result of their work at Ground Zero.
Keith Silverman, 49, a freelance camera operator who arrived at the World Trade Center the morning of September 11 and spent the next two weeks there for ABC, says he can no longer work in TV. He suffers from chronic sinus issues and is in remission from Hodgkin's lymphoma, problems he believes come from exposure to dust and smoke at Ground Zero. "They don't know what we breathed in because there were so many carcinogens in the air," he says.
Philippe Gassot, 52, a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for French TV and radio; Jim Purcell, 42, publisher of a weekly newspaper in Middletown, New Jersey; and another photo- journalist all say they suffer from worsening breathing problems after covering Ground Zero.
A producer for a Canadian TV network spent a week at Ground Zero after 9/11. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 2002 and died of lung failure in 2004. His wife (who requested that his name not be published) says she believes the World Trade Center dust acted as a trigger for this rare form of cancer.
It is likely that there are more. Between 2002 and 2004, The World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program surveyed 9,442 workers, including 81 who worked for news agencies. The survey found that this group was five times as likely as the general population to suffer from reduced breathing capacity.
The NYPPA has been encouraging 9/11 journalists to fill out an anonymous online survey. By early February, the survey had logged 161 responses. Respondents reported a variety of breathing problems like asthma and persistent coughing, and symptoms of depression and PTSD. Thirty-six of them said post-9/11 health problems have affected their careers.
When the Twin Towers collapsed, they kicked up a cloud of pulverized cement, glass, lead, asbestos, PCBs, pesticides and other chemicals. Some of the journalists now suffering from health problems feel angry that the government did little to warn people about these dangers. They now scoff at the early assurances that the air was safe.
In a Sept. 13, 2001 press release, Christie Whitman, then head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said, "EPA is greatly relieved to have learned that there appears to be no significant levels of asbestos dust in the air in New York City."
On Sept. 18, even as the EPA cautioned rescue workers to wash their dust-laden clothes separately from other laundry, Whitman asserted, "The public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances."
The EPA did not have enough information to make such judgments, but they were pressured by the Bush administration to sound reassuring, according to a 2003 EPA Inspector General report. The White House Council on Environmental Quality "convinced the EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones," according to the report.
Even knowing what they know now, journalists say they would have covered the story anyway. "The adrenaline was running, it was an important news story, I charged in and did it, I'd probably do it again," Meyers says. "But if I did it again I would be a hell of a lot more careful."
In a sad bit of irony, the helicopter ride that exposed Meyers to the smoke also earned him a share of a Pulitzer Prize, awarded to the photo staff of The Times in 2002 for its 9/11 portfolio.
"I'm just a guy who did his job and got sick. And I'm in great shape compared to a lot of other people," he says. "I am scared to death that a lot of our colleagues who were there are going to get sick soon or in five or ten years."
Rescuers and construction workers aren't the only ones sickened by exposure to World Trade Center dust and smoke. Journalists, including photographers, are also reporting health problems.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003714645
By Daryl Lang
March 03, 2008
New York Times staff photographer Keith Meyers loved to tackle rigorous assignments, like flying in military jets and scuba diving with astronauts in training.
"He was almost hyper in terms of his energy level," says friend and fellow Times photographer Fred Conrad. "He could run circles around people."
On September 11, 2001, Meyers cut short a vacation and raced to New York to help with coverage at Ground Zero. Four days later, Meyers climbed aboard a Coast Guard helicopter to shoot a series of historic pictures, the first aerial news photos of the still-burning World Trade Center site.
As he leaned out of the helicopter, Meyers could feel the rising smoke.
"It was like breathing fire, and I could feel my skin tingling and burning," he says. A doctor later told him he probably had been exposed to chemicals as caustic as Drano.
Over the next two years, Meyers's health deteriorated. While covering the New York City blackout in 2003, he suffered several asthma attacks. His energy level diminished, and twice he nodded off behind the wheel while waiting at tollbooths.
Now 59, Meyers suffers from serious breathing problems. Treatment keeps many of his symptoms in check, but he can no longer do his job. He went on indefinite medical leave from The Times last year.
His diagnoses are like a catalogue of the illnesses that afflict 9/11 workers: asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disorder, paradoxical voice box disorder. On top of all that is a feeling of lost identity now that he has given up photojournalism.
"Not working is harder than being sick," he says. "And that's the battle I've got to fight, because I've got to be sure not to do anything to make myself sicker."
Meyers is not alone. Five other journalists have told PDN they suffer persistent health effects after working at the World Trade Center site, and a sixth has died of cancer. Two of them were unwilling to be named in this article, one for privacy reasons and another because of an ongoing lawsuit.
David Handschuh, a photographer for the New York Daily News, has been working with The New York Press Photographers Association (NYPPA) to make sure these journalists aren't forgotten.
Handschuh, 48, broke his leg covering the World Trade Center attack and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. "It's not a New York problem. It's a nationwide problem," Handschuh says when discussing 9/11 health concerns, emphasizing that many out-of-town journalists were part of the coverage.
First responders and construction workers who toiled in the toxic aftermath of 9/11 have been the subject of news reports, political speeches and prize-winning newspaper editorials. But little has been said about the journalists who were exposed to the same conditions.
Handschuh and the NYPPA are advocating for legislation in New York State to extend the deadline for journalists to file 9/11-related workers compensation claims. Last year state lawmakers extended the filing deadline for rescue and recovery workers to August 14, but there is no similar extension for journalists.
For environmental illnesses like asthma and cancer, proving a direct link between cause and effect is difficult. Certain cancers might not appear for decades.
But right now, some journalists are convinced their health problems are the result of their work at Ground Zero.
Keith Silverman, 49, a freelance camera operator who arrived at the World Trade Center the morning of September 11 and spent the next two weeks there for ABC, says he can no longer work in TV. He suffers from chronic sinus issues and is in remission from Hodgkin's lymphoma, problems he believes come from exposure to dust and smoke at Ground Zero. "They don't know what we breathed in because there were so many carcinogens in the air," he says.
Philippe Gassot, 52, a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for French TV and radio; Jim Purcell, 42, publisher of a weekly newspaper in Middletown, New Jersey; and another photo- journalist all say they suffer from worsening breathing problems after covering Ground Zero.
A producer for a Canadian TV network spent a week at Ground Zero after 9/11. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 2002 and died of lung failure in 2004. His wife (who requested that his name not be published) says she believes the World Trade Center dust acted as a trigger for this rare form of cancer.
It is likely that there are more. Between 2002 and 2004, The World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program surveyed 9,442 workers, including 81 who worked for news agencies. The survey found that this group was five times as likely as the general population to suffer from reduced breathing capacity.
The NYPPA has been encouraging 9/11 journalists to fill out an anonymous online survey. By early February, the survey had logged 161 responses. Respondents reported a variety of breathing problems like asthma and persistent coughing, and symptoms of depression and PTSD. Thirty-six of them said post-9/11 health problems have affected their careers.
When the Twin Towers collapsed, they kicked up a cloud of pulverized cement, glass, lead, asbestos, PCBs, pesticides and other chemicals. Some of the journalists now suffering from health problems feel angry that the government did little to warn people about these dangers. They now scoff at the early assurances that the air was safe.
In a Sept. 13, 2001 press release, Christie Whitman, then head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said, "EPA is greatly relieved to have learned that there appears to be no significant levels of asbestos dust in the air in New York City."
On Sept. 18, even as the EPA cautioned rescue workers to wash their dust-laden clothes separately from other laundry, Whitman asserted, "The public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances."
The EPA did not have enough information to make such judgments, but they were pressured by the Bush administration to sound reassuring, according to a 2003 EPA Inspector General report. The White House Council on Environmental Quality "convinced the EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones," according to the report.
Even knowing what they know now, journalists say they would have covered the story anyway. "The adrenaline was running, it was an important news story, I charged in and did it, I'd probably do it again," Meyers says. "But if I did it again I would be a hell of a lot more careful."
In a sad bit of irony, the helicopter ride that exposed Meyers to the smoke also earned him a share of a Pulitzer Prize, awarded to the photo staff of The Times in 2002 for its 9/11 portfolio.
"I'm just a guy who did his job and got sick. And I'm in great shape compared to a lot of other people," he says. "I am scared to death that a lot of our colleagues who were there are going to get sick soon or in five or ten years."
Court Allows 9/11 Cleanup Crew Lawsuits To Proceed
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=83482
Web Editor: John Blunda, Associate Producer
Created: 3/26/2008 1:19:26 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal appeals court says lawsuits can proceed on behalf of thousands of Sept. 11 workers who claim they were not properly protected as they cleaned up the World Trade Center site.
Lawyers for New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to give them immunity from nearly 8,000 workers' claims.
The appeals court said it is too early to decide whether immunity protected the defendants from these sorts of lawsuits.
The ruling means the city and the Port Authority must continue to defend the workers' claims of respiratory and other personal injuries.
Lawyers have said the lawsuits would not be ready for trial for several years.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=83482
Web Editor: John Blunda, Associate Producer
Created: 3/26/2008 1:19:26 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal appeals court says lawsuits can proceed on behalf of thousands of Sept. 11 workers who claim they were not properly protected as they cleaned up the World Trade Center site.
Lawyers for New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to give them immunity from nearly 8,000 workers' claims.
The appeals court said it is too early to decide whether immunity protected the defendants from these sorts of lawsuits.
The ruling means the city and the Port Authority must continue to defend the workers' claims of respiratory and other personal injuries.
Lawyers have said the lawsuits would not be ready for trial for several years.
Court Clears Way for 9/11 Illness Lawsuit
http://www.nysun.com/news/new-york/court-clears-way-911-illness-lawsuit
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN, STAFF REPORTER OF THE SUN | March 26, 2008
A federal appeals court has refused to give New York City immunity from the lawsuits of thousands of city workers and construction laborers who say they now suffer from respiratory illnesses after they helped clean up ground zero in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The lawsuits claim that the city failed to ensure that ground zero was a safe work place. High among the claims is the assertion that the city failed to enforce rules requiring workers to wear respirators while working amid the toxins and rubble.
Citing the unprecedented nature of the disaster, New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, both defendants in the suits, have argued that they are entitled to immunity from the claims. The defendants say they cannot be required to pay out to the workers what could amount to billions of dollars in damages.
The first significant ruling in the case came in 2006, when a federal district judge in Manhattan, Alvin Hellerstein, found that the city was only entitled to immunity for its conduct in the days immediately after the terrorist attacks. The lawsuits could go forward against the city's wishes, Judge Hellerstein ruled, to give workers the chance to prove their claims that ground zero remained an unsafe work environment even weeks and months after September 11, 2001.
The city and port authority appealed. In a victory for the ailing workers, today?s decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that appeal and largely affirmed Judge Hellerstein?s decision.
The appeal was decided by Judges Jon Newman, Sonia Sotomayor, and Richard Wesley.
Lawyers for either side could not be reached for comment.
http://www.nysun.com/news/new-york/court-clears-way-911-illness-lawsuit
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN, STAFF REPORTER OF THE SUN | March 26, 2008
A federal appeals court has refused to give New York City immunity from the lawsuits of thousands of city workers and construction laborers who say they now suffer from respiratory illnesses after they helped clean up ground zero in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The lawsuits claim that the city failed to ensure that ground zero was a safe work place. High among the claims is the assertion that the city failed to enforce rules requiring workers to wear respirators while working amid the toxins and rubble.
Citing the unprecedented nature of the disaster, New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, both defendants in the suits, have argued that they are entitled to immunity from the claims. The defendants say they cannot be required to pay out to the workers what could amount to billions of dollars in damages.
The first significant ruling in the case came in 2006, when a federal district judge in Manhattan, Alvin Hellerstein, found that the city was only entitled to immunity for its conduct in the days immediately after the terrorist attacks. The lawsuits could go forward against the city's wishes, Judge Hellerstein ruled, to give workers the chance to prove their claims that ground zero remained an unsafe work environment even weeks and months after September 11, 2001.
The city and port authority appealed. In a victory for the ailing workers, today?s decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that appeal and largely affirmed Judge Hellerstein?s decision.
The appeal was decided by Judges Jon Newman, Sonia Sotomayor, and Richard Wesley.
Lawyers for either side could not be reached for comment.
Second Circuit Rejects City And Contractors’ Immunity Arguments In World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=62036
WEBWIRE – Wednesday, March 26, 2008
New York, New York, March 26, 2008: The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today released its 58-page decision holding that the City of New York and its contractors are not immune from suit in the World Trade Center Disaster Site litigation. In the decision, In re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, Second Circuit Docket Number 06-5324, the Second Circuit dismissed the defendants’ immunity claims arising from New York State Law, holding that it had no jurisdiction over these state-law issues, and held that insofar as the City contended it should not be forced to take part in the litigation at all, those claims of immunity from suit were meritless. The Second Circuit thus affirmed the District Court’s denial of the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on immunity grounds.
In its decision, the Court said that “what Defendants seek is an unprecedented extension of derivative discretionary immunity as a matter of law – an extension that, as a policy matter, would not only insulate them from liability but also bar Plaintiffs from seeking compensation for injuries they received while working at the World Trade Center disaster site and at the Fresh Kills Landfill.” Responding to the Contractors’ arguments that a finding in favor of the plaintiffs would make contractors less likely in the event of future disasters, to respond to the government’s needs, the Court wrote: “we observe that private contractors, unlike volunteers or conscripts, are paid for their services and able to pass along the cost of liability protection to the government, either by including the cost of liability insurance in their contract or by seeking indemnification from the government.” The Court cited with approval the District Court’s finding that “we must strike a ‘delicate balance’ between the needs of Defendants, who insist that immunity is necessary to encourage companies to volunteer their efforts, and Plaintiffs, who were ‘the very individuals who, without thought of self, rushed to the aid of the City and their fallen comrades.’”
Asked about today’s decision, Plaintiffs’ Co-Liaison Counsel Paul Napoli said: “Obviously, we are elated about today’s decision that soundly upholds the District Court’s denial of the defendants’ claims of immunity from suit. We hope that this strong message from the Court of Appeals will convince the City of New York and its Contractors that the time for foot-dragging and excuses has ended and the time to step up to the plate and offer these heroic Ground Zero workers some relief has begun.” Continuing, Mr. Napoli said “we hope that the defendants will forego further attempts to avoid their obligations and will swiftly move forward with us to a fair and equitable resolution of these claims.”
Thousands of men and women who worked in the clean up and recovery efforts at the site of the World Trade Center in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks have become seriously ill, and many have died of those illnesses, as a result of their exposure to toxic smoke, dust, particulate matter and chemicals at the worksite. Plaintiffs contend that the City and the Contractors failed to provide adequate protective equipment in the form of respirators and hazardous material coveralls, as well as failed to provide adequate safety training and supervision at and around the work site. Initial reports of a so-called “World Trade Center cough” and other respiratory problems have given way to life-threatening illnesses such as pulmonary fibrosis, severe asthma, leukemia and other cancers in a large percentage of the people who worked at and around the site.
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=62036
WEBWIRE – Wednesday, March 26, 2008
New York, New York, March 26, 2008: The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today released its 58-page decision holding that the City of New York and its contractors are not immune from suit in the World Trade Center Disaster Site litigation. In the decision, In re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, Second Circuit Docket Number 06-5324, the Second Circuit dismissed the defendants’ immunity claims arising from New York State Law, holding that it had no jurisdiction over these state-law issues, and held that insofar as the City contended it should not be forced to take part in the litigation at all, those claims of immunity from suit were meritless. The Second Circuit thus affirmed the District Court’s denial of the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on immunity grounds.
In its decision, the Court said that “what Defendants seek is an unprecedented extension of derivative discretionary immunity as a matter of law – an extension that, as a policy matter, would not only insulate them from liability but also bar Plaintiffs from seeking compensation for injuries they received while working at the World Trade Center disaster site and at the Fresh Kills Landfill.” Responding to the Contractors’ arguments that a finding in favor of the plaintiffs would make contractors less likely in the event of future disasters, to respond to the government’s needs, the Court wrote: “we observe that private contractors, unlike volunteers or conscripts, are paid for their services and able to pass along the cost of liability protection to the government, either by including the cost of liability insurance in their contract or by seeking indemnification from the government.” The Court cited with approval the District Court’s finding that “we must strike a ‘delicate balance’ between the needs of Defendants, who insist that immunity is necessary to encourage companies to volunteer their efforts, and Plaintiffs, who were ‘the very individuals who, without thought of self, rushed to the aid of the City and their fallen comrades.’”
Asked about today’s decision, Plaintiffs’ Co-Liaison Counsel Paul Napoli said: “Obviously, we are elated about today’s decision that soundly upholds the District Court’s denial of the defendants’ claims of immunity from suit. We hope that this strong message from the Court of Appeals will convince the City of New York and its Contractors that the time for foot-dragging and excuses has ended and the time to step up to the plate and offer these heroic Ground Zero workers some relief has begun.” Continuing, Mr. Napoli said “we hope that the defendants will forego further attempts to avoid their obligations and will swiftly move forward with us to a fair and equitable resolution of these claims.”
Thousands of men and women who worked in the clean up and recovery efforts at the site of the World Trade Center in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks have become seriously ill, and many have died of those illnesses, as a result of their exposure to toxic smoke, dust, particulate matter and chemicals at the worksite. Plaintiffs contend that the City and the Contractors failed to provide adequate protective equipment in the form of respirators and hazardous material coveralls, as well as failed to provide adequate safety training and supervision at and around the work site. Initial reports of a so-called “World Trade Center cough” and other respiratory problems have given way to life-threatening illnesses such as pulmonary fibrosis, severe asthma, leukemia and other cancers in a large percentage of the people who worked at and around the site.
OUR THOUGHTS ON IMPOSTERS DOING 9/11 FUND-RAISING
March 30, 2008. Today, we are disappointed, but realistically with the tens of thousands that have been adversely affected by 9/11, there are bound to be one or a few of those that are not providing accurate and genuine reports of that day.
However, over the past few years, we have become accustomed to disappointments as we have been made to sit idly by and watch those we care about pass away anonymously. While events like this make our struggle that much more difficult, we will not lose our resolve or purpose. - FGF
Ground Zero 'hero' arrested at fund-raiser actually a fraud, officials say
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/03/30/2008-03-30_ground_zero_hero_arrested_at_fundraiser_.html
BY MICHAEL DALY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, March 30th 2008, 4:00 AM
Fred Parisi at a rally for 9/11 first responders on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on February 26.
A self-styled 9/11 hero who brags he helped "rescue thousands" as a New York City cop is a fraud who never set foot near the World Trade Center that day and quit the force before graduating from the academy, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
The allegation came after Fred Parisi was arrested in Carlstadt, N.J., last night while entering a fund-raiser for the 9/11 Rescue Workers Foundation that he founded.
The actual theft charges against the 40-year-old father of three from Jefferson Township, N.J., are unrelated to Sept. 11. Local cops said he looted at least $235,000 from Berkshire Valley Custom Wood Designs, a woodworking company that he also founded.
Just last month, he joined a delegation of legitimate 9/11 rescue workers at the Capitol in Washington to lobby for better health care. He appeared in news photos holding an American flag and standing next to an FDNY deputy chief who lost a son at the World Trade Center.
Parisi touts himself as director and founder of the 9/11 Rescue Workers Foundation. His phone number is (866) WTC-HERO.
A foundation press release states, "Fred was there as the second plane hit. But what haunts him is the memory of what the firefighters said on the way up: 'Stay here, Fred. We'll be right back.' "
A flyer to raise money to send his 10-year-old son to a baseball program in Holland adds that Parisi "was a New York City Police Officer and staged dramatic rescues to save thousands of New Yorkers."
Parisi had said he suffers from a "rare lung disease attributed to the rescue and recovery efforts from Ground Zero on Sept. 11."
But law enforcement sources said Parisi and the rest of Police Academy Company 01-16 were on Floyd Bennett Field for driving training during the terrorist attacks and never got close to the Trade Center.
Sources added that on Sept. 12 and 13, 2001, Parisi was assigned to traffic duty at E. 34th St. and Madison Ave., far away from Ground Zero.
Records show he joined the NYPD on July 1, 2001, and quit on Nov. 1, 2001, without graduating from the academy.
Parisi lied on his application, failing to list disciplinary problems in the military and resignations from two other police departments, as well as an arrest for impersonating an officer, sources said.
His impersonation of a 9/11 hero persuaded a public relations executive and a Web site designer to donate their services to assist his foundation.
The public relations executive, Lori Widmer, said she eventually began to suspect that Parisi was not the hero he made himself out to be and asked him if he was trying to cheat people.
He responded with a "veiled threat," she said.
Cops have not determined if Parisi pocketed any of the money raised for his foundation or for his son's baseball trip.
Last night, Parisi arrived at the Waterfront Café dressed for his fund-raiser in a green button-down shirt and khakis. He seemed stunned by his arrest, and in an emotional outburst threatened to kill the investigator who developed the case, Jefferson Township Police Detective Joseph Kratzel.
"Surprised is not even the word," Kratzel said of Parisi. "Dumbfounded."
Parisi was held on $107,500 bail on charges he looted the woodworking company he started up with a woodworker he originally hired and then presented with a "business opportunity" rather than pay him, police said.
Cops said that the uncommonly talented woodworker, Roy Jensen, did all the work and Parisi took all the money, including cash for materials that were never purchased.
[email protected]
March 30, 2008. Today, we are disappointed, but realistically with the tens of thousands that have been adversely affected by 9/11, there are bound to be one or a few of those that are not providing accurate and genuine reports of that day.
However, over the past few years, we have become accustomed to disappointments as we have been made to sit idly by and watch those we care about pass away anonymously. While events like this make our struggle that much more difficult, we will not lose our resolve or purpose. - FGF
Ground Zero 'hero' arrested at fund-raiser actually a fraud, officials say
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/03/30/2008-03-30_ground_zero_hero_arrested_at_fundraiser_.html
BY MICHAEL DALY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, March 30th 2008, 4:00 AM
Fred Parisi at a rally for 9/11 first responders on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on February 26.
A self-styled 9/11 hero who brags he helped "rescue thousands" as a New York City cop is a fraud who never set foot near the World Trade Center that day and quit the force before graduating from the academy, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
The allegation came after Fred Parisi was arrested in Carlstadt, N.J., last night while entering a fund-raiser for the 9/11 Rescue Workers Foundation that he founded.
The actual theft charges against the 40-year-old father of three from Jefferson Township, N.J., are unrelated to Sept. 11. Local cops said he looted at least $235,000 from Berkshire Valley Custom Wood Designs, a woodworking company that he also founded.
Just last month, he joined a delegation of legitimate 9/11 rescue workers at the Capitol in Washington to lobby for better health care. He appeared in news photos holding an American flag and standing next to an FDNY deputy chief who lost a son at the World Trade Center.
Parisi touts himself as director and founder of the 9/11 Rescue Workers Foundation. His phone number is (866) WTC-HERO.
A foundation press release states, "Fred was there as the second plane hit. But what haunts him is the memory of what the firefighters said on the way up: 'Stay here, Fred. We'll be right back.' "
A flyer to raise money to send his 10-year-old son to a baseball program in Holland adds that Parisi "was a New York City Police Officer and staged dramatic rescues to save thousands of New Yorkers."
Parisi had said he suffers from a "rare lung disease attributed to the rescue and recovery efforts from Ground Zero on Sept. 11."
But law enforcement sources said Parisi and the rest of Police Academy Company 01-16 were on Floyd Bennett Field for driving training during the terrorist attacks and never got close to the Trade Center.
Sources added that on Sept. 12 and 13, 2001, Parisi was assigned to traffic duty at E. 34th St. and Madison Ave., far away from Ground Zero.
Records show he joined the NYPD on July 1, 2001, and quit on Nov. 1, 2001, without graduating from the academy.
Parisi lied on his application, failing to list disciplinary problems in the military and resignations from two other police departments, as well as an arrest for impersonating an officer, sources said.
His impersonation of a 9/11 hero persuaded a public relations executive and a Web site designer to donate their services to assist his foundation.
The public relations executive, Lori Widmer, said she eventually began to suspect that Parisi was not the hero he made himself out to be and asked him if he was trying to cheat people.
He responded with a "veiled threat," she said.
Cops have not determined if Parisi pocketed any of the money raised for his foundation or for his son's baseball trip.
Last night, Parisi arrived at the Waterfront Café dressed for his fund-raiser in a green button-down shirt and khakis. He seemed stunned by his arrest, and in an emotional outburst threatened to kill the investigator who developed the case, Jefferson Township Police Detective Joseph Kratzel.
"Surprised is not even the word," Kratzel said of Parisi. "Dumbfounded."
Parisi was held on $107,500 bail on charges he looted the woodworking company he started up with a woodworker he originally hired and then presented with a "business opportunity" rather than pay him, police said.
Cops said that the uncommonly talented woodworker, Roy Jensen, did all the work and Parisi took all the money, including cash for materials that were never purchased.
[email protected]