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Thread: A Fallen Hero - Video Inside

  1. #361
    simuvac Guest
    It doesn't seem fair to have the city's examiner deliberate on a case that could cost the city billions of dollars.

    If Hirsch wants a future working for the city, he has to come up with a conclusion like this.

  2. #362
    AuGmENTor Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by simuvac
    It doesn't seem fair to have the city's examiner deliberate on a case that could cost the city billions of dollars.

    If Hirsch wants a future working for the city, he has to come up with a conclusion like this.
    Good point, I never looked at it like that...

  3. #363
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    Friends Come To The Aid Of 9/11 First Responder

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21502164/

    10/27/2007

    BARNEGAT TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A fundraiser was held Friday night to help a man who used to make a living helping others.
    Images

    The Jersey Shore resident was one of the first responders to the attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. But as NBC 10?s Doug Shimell explained, these days, he's in need of a helping hand himself.

    "This is not about me. This is about all the 9/11 first responders and rescue workers. Those of us that are sick and dying. We just want our dignity,? Charlie Giles said.

    Giles, a former N.Y. EMT, can't work due to lung problems caused by the dust and debris at ground zero. The 9/11 Victims? Fund hasn't paid his medical bills and his Barnegat Township, N.J., home is in foreclosure. For those reasons, colleagues and local officials went to work to help Giles out. It has become a rescue mission for the rescuer.

    "If the president and the national government, you know, the federal government would just step in, take a look at this and let's get something going for these people," Barnegat Township Mayor Al Cirulli said.

    Ailing New York firefighter Billy Maher also came. In Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko," Maher was flown to Cuba for medical treatment.

    "We're all in this together. We're kind of like standing alone right now. We're fighting for all of us," Maher said.

    Students from the Kenneth R. Olson Middle School in Tabernacle, N.J., raised nearly $800 for Charlie.

    "We didn't think we'd raise that much money. We were just so excited when we found out. We were blown away by how generous people were," said one student.

    But when John Feal arrived, Giles became emotional. Feal lost a foot as a 9/11 responder at ground zero. He is the founder of Feal Good Foundation and has adopted Giles? case.

    "We're going to show the federal government that while they sit idle that people like us that really have nothing after 9/11, can still make a difference and help," Feal said.

    Those who came to the fundraiser brought a donation. In the end, the amount totaled $5,000. The sum brought Giles to tears, once again.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  4. #364
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    Error halts auction of 9-11 EMT's property

    http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/t...-7410909c.html

    By EMILY PREVITI Staff Writer
    Published: Saturday, October 27, 2007

    BARGNEGAT TOWNSHIP - Friday was kind to Charlie Giles.

    The sheriff's auction of his home, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed until Nov. 13, Ocean County Undersheriff Wayne Rupert confirmed late that afternoon.

    That evening, about 100 firefighters, police officers, activists, local leaders and friends of the Giles family gathered at the Pinewood Estates Fire-house on Route 72 to watch Giles receive $3,500 to help pay his medical expenses from the FealGood Foundation, the Barnegat Police Benevolent Association and We Are Change.

    At one point during the ceremony, Giles sobbed.

    "Six years I have been waiting for help from our government," he said. "The FealGood Foundation came into my life last Sunday. And in six days, more has happened to my family and myself than has happened in six years."

    Giles, 39, responded on Sept. 11, 2001, as an emergency medical technician. He moved with his family to Barnegat in 2002. Since then, the family's financial situation has grown dire because of medical expenses related to his 9-11 response. In March, Giles received a foreclosure notice.

    He has attributed his financial situation to bureaucratic red tape involving the New York State Crime Victims Board and New York State Workers' Compensation Board. The latter office cannot discuss cases without the written permission of the individual. Giles declined to give permission on the advice of his attorney, Sean Riordan of FealGood.

    Riordan and the group's founder John Feal attended the event Friday night in Barnegat.

    Feal lauded the recent response to Giles' plight, an unfortunate situation which, he pointed out, is not unique among Sept. 11 responders. In the past two months, Feal estimated Riordan, an attorney specializing in workers' compensation, had added 66 cases to his load, including Giles'. Riordan has taken Giles' case pro bono.

    While the donations and support garnered for Giles have come courtesy of the community, the delay of the sale of his home was likely prompted by a filing or typographical error.

    Wachovia Bank apparently was incorrectly named as the plaintiff in the foreclosure suits, according to the bank's in-house counsel Mark Farmer and Jerry Dasti, a lawyer for Giles.

    "They don't know who holds the mortgage," Dasti said. "I expect to get that on Monday. It's my hope that we can tie this thing up one way or another next week.

    Giles' mortgage is through Americas Servicing Company. However, Wachovia had sold the package of loans containing Giles' mortgage in 2005, according to spokesperson Don Vecchiarello. Dasti, Farmer and Americas Servicing Company executives have been trying since Monday to figure out how the mix-up happened.

    Kevin Waetke, communications manager for Wells Fargo Home & Consumer Finance Group, the parent company of Americas Servicing Company, said the company incorrectly assigned the trustee.

    "Obviously, there was some mess up on the other end," Dasti said. "I received a call late this afternoon from Americas Servicing Company. They're going to provide a proposal next week … and a solution to try to resolve it."

    The law firm representing the plaintiff - Phelan, Hallinan & Schmieg LLP, which has offices in Mount Laurel and Philadelphia - has not returned repeated calls for comment.

    Not everyone in the community has expressed support without question. Bernard Laufgas, of Barnegat, was one who questioned Giles' credentials and claims of Sept. 11 response. Laufgas also took issue with Giles' "using" the event to gain financial support.

    "If he was there, God bless him," Laufgas said.

    Court records show that Laufgas filed a lawsuit in 2006 against Giles and two of his running mates in a school board election for placing signs on property Laufgas owned.

    The Press of Atlantic City obtained medical records that verify Giles' response to Ground Zero, and confirmed it with his employer at the time, Warren Golden, chief operating officer of Citywide Emergency Mobile Response Corp. The Press also has seen Giles' badge and certification.

    "I have two weeks of breathing room to find out who owns my house," Giles said. "Hopefully my attorney can get something happening and worker's comp … or somebody comes through to help me."

    To e-mail Emily Previti at The Press: EPreviti@pressofac.com
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  5. #365
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    Outpouring of help for afflicted 9/11 EMT
    But he still faces losing his home

    http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...710280446/1070

    BY MATT PAIS
    MANAHAWKIN BUREAU
    Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/28/07

    BARNEGAT — Charlie Giles has fallen on tough times, but those close to him are hoping to band together and rescue the 9/11 responder from financial ruin.

    Giles — a certified emergency medical technician who responded to the World Trade Center as a supervisor with CityWide EMS and then returned to the site as a volunteer for two months — has been unable to work because of a series of health problems he says are related to breathing hazardous dust.

    Now, crushed by the weight of medical bills, he's fallen behind on his mortgage and foreclosure proceedings are under way. The Ocean County Sheriff's Department is scheduled to auction off the home on Tuesday.

    "Times are tough," Giles said.

    The financial trouble for the 40-year-old Giles, his wife and two daughters has snowballed as his medical condition has worsened, he says. There have been more than a dozen trips to the hospital, piles of medication, a hip-replacement operation and pending knee reconstruction — the latter two procedures attributed to prolonged steroid use made necessary by a diminished lung capacity.

    He's had to bear much of the cost for the procedures himself, with little income aside from the $241.57 weekly stipend he receives for disability. He has encountered a tangle of red tape while trying to claim disability, worker's compensation and crime-victim benefits he says he's entitled to.

    Now, he hopes a last-ditch fundraising effort will be enough to help save his home.

    "We've gotten a lot of help from a lot of people, and we'll see what happens," he said.

    Among those lending the biggest hand are Giles' brethren at the Pinewood Estates Volunteer Fire Co., which he joined after moving to Barnegat six years ago. The company has raised more than $5,000 through a benefit account it established at Commerce Bank and through other fundraisers.

    "He's an awesome guy and he's got a big heart. We're trying to do everything we can to help him out," said company member Mike Essig.

    Foundation assistance
    The efforts received a big boost this week when a published report about his struggles caught the eye of John Feal, a 9/11 responder who heads the FealGood Foundation — a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading awareness about the disaster's long-term health effects on those who worked at the World Trade Center.

    "In 2001, on Sept. 11, everybody was patriotic and everybody wanted to help. I hope I can resurface some of those feelings," Feal said. "You don't need a plane to hit a building to be compassionate."

    Feal, who has helped dozens of other responders, began a massive public-relations campaign on Giles' behalf, including appearances on Star Jones' CourtTV show and CBS news.

    He drummed up more than $2,000 in a few days, drawing donations from unlikely sources, including more than $100 from elementary school students in Purchase, N.Y.

    "These were 10- and 11-year-olds doing what they can, and, meanwhile, our federal and state government sits by while more and more people die," Feal said.

    As part of his foundation, Feal has advocated for the release of funding to help the estimated 30,000 responders suffering from 9/11-attack-related physical and mental illnesses.

    "There are thousands of Charlie Gileses out there," he said.

    In addition to raising money to save the Giles family home, Feal has found an attorney experienced with 9/11 workers' rights to handle Giles' government claims pro bono. While any government check is undoubtedly too far away to arrive in time for Tuesday's deadline, Feal said he hopes the attention drawn to Giles will spur more support for others in need.

    "People like Charlie Giles can't move on because they don't have justice," he said. "The government needs to do more; that's the bottom line."
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  6. #366
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    The FealGood Foundation And WeAreChange Help Charles Giles

    Click Here (Google Video)

    Thanks to both organizations.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  7. #367
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    Again, Bloomberg called insensitive for 9/11-related remark

    http://www.silive.com/newsflash/metr...rylist=simetro

    By SARA KUGLER
    The Associated Press
    10/31/2007, 1:17 a.m. EDT

    NEW YORK (AP) — When Mayor Michael Bloomberg ignited a fury by saying a deceased police detective who worked on the World Trade Center cleanup was "not a hero" because of questions about the cause of his death, he found himself in a familiar place.

    Bloomberg, a businessman who favors data and numbers over the touchy-feely side of governing, often lands in hot water when talking about issues related to the aftermath of the Sept. 11 disaster.

    In his first year as mayor, shortly after the attack, he angered victims' relatives when he said he favored a "less is more" approach to the memorial. And when he said downtown residents wouldn't want to live next to a "cemetery," it made things worse.

    The next year, during a meeting at City Hall, he upset Diane and Kurt Horning, who lost their son in the attack and were furious that the city buried sifted trade center dust in a Staten Island landfill.

    Diane Horning says Bloomberg was "dismissive and abrupt" about their views on grieving and remains, and implied that he doesn't personally identify with their cause because he plans to donate his body to science.

    Bloomberg's aides and associates say it is simply not his style to emote and dwell on the past, and that he has a more forward-looking approach, which can come across as cold and matter-of-fact.

    In the latest confrontation, Zadroga's family and the city's police unions called for an apology from the mayor, saying his comment was heartless. They said every member of the police force is a hero for putting their lives on the line, particularly those who worked in the months-long cleanup at ground zero.

    Speaking Monday to students at Harvard University, where he was accepting a public health award, Bloomberg was asked about the idea of applying hard science to public policy. In his answer, he brought up Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch's recent conclusion that Zadroga's fatal lung disease was not from trade center dust but because he had been injecting himself with ground-up pills.

    "Nobody wanted to hear that — we wanted to have a hero and there are plenty of heroes," Bloomberg said. "It's just, in this case, science says this was not a hero."

    "A nice human being, a tragic death, all of that is true," he added.

    Zadroga's family disputes Hirsch's findings about drug use; a New Jersey medical examiner ruled separately last year that Zadroga died from inhaling the toxic ground zero dust. He put in more than 400 hours at ground zero, and his death at 34 made him a symbol of ailing Sept. 11 workers around the country.

    The family sought Hirsch's opinion as part of the city's required process to include additional names on the official Sept. 11 victims list and memorial wall to be built at ground zero.

    "The mayor is a political person, he's acting on a political agenda — to me, he's heartless, he has no compassion whatsoever for people and their lives and their families," said the detective's father, Joseph Zadroga. "He just doesn't understand what integrity means, what getting your name on the wall means, what getting a medal means, what honor and duty is."

    Detectives' Endowment Association President Michael Palladino said the police force had lost faith in the mayor and City Hall, and that Bloomberg's comments stung the hundreds of rescue workers who say they have become sickened after working on the cleanup.

    "Hirsch's findings and the mayor's comments are an insult to the families of those first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice, like Jimmy Zadroga, and all those other first responders that are still suffering with the illness of 9/11," Palladino said.

    At a news conference in Brooklyn, Bloomberg backpedaled carefully, praising the detective for his "impressive record," saying he didn't mean to upset anyone. He declined to say whether he regrets the remark about Zadroga not being a hero.

    "This was a great NYPD officer who dedicated himself, put his life in harm's way hundreds of times during his career, and you can use your own definition — I think it's a question of how you want to define what a hero is," Bloomberg said. "And certainly I did not mean to hurt the family or impugn his reputation."

    Joseph Zadroga said he would like to meet with the mayor to explain the family's view of the detective's death, and Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said he would be happy to do so.

    The family has released more than 100 pages of medical records that showed Zadroga developed breathing problems just after the 2001 attacks.

    Zadroga's father says the medicine his son was taking to treat his illness — including several strong painkillers and anti-anxiety pills — were never improperly injected.

    Bloomberg's comments were "just heartbreaking, and my wife and my family just could not get over it," Joseph Zadroga said.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  8. #368
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    Fury After Bloomberg Says 9/11 Cop Not A Hero
    Family Demands Apology From Mayor

    http://wcbstv.com/topstories/james.z....2.470432.html

    10/31/2007

    NEW YORK (AP) ― A fury erupted today over Mayor Michael Bloomberg's remarks that police detective James Zadroga, who worked hundreds of hours at ground zero cleanup, is "not a hero" because his death was ruled unrelated to the toxic debris.

    At a news conference in Brooklyn today, Bloomberg praised Zadroga for his "impressive record," and said he didn't mean to upset anyone.

    The Zadroga family and the city's police unions has called for an apology from the mayor.

    Speaking to students at Harvard University yesterday, Bloomberg was asked about the idea of applying hard science to public policy.

    His answer brought up Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch's recent conclusion that Zadroga's fatal lung disease wasn't from trade center dust but from injections of ground-up pills. The mayor added "science says this was not a hero."

    Zadroga's family disputes Hirsch's findings; a New Jersey medical examiner ruled separately last year that Zadroga died from inhaling the toxic ground zero dust.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  9. #369
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    ‘My son is a hero’
    Parents of fallen cop blast Bloomberg

    http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/artic...ero/10541.html

    by joshua rhett miller / metro new york
    OCT 31, 2007

    MANHATTAN. The family of a fallen NYPD detective and the city’s police unions demanded an apology yesterday from Mayor Michael Bloomberg for saying James Zadroga was “not a hero” because his death was ruled unrelated to toxic Ground Zero debris.

    “I’m so upset about this,” Zadroga’s mother, Linda, told Metro yesterday. “New York killed my son and now it’s killing me.”

    Linda Zadroga said she disputes Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsh’s finding that her son’s fatal lung disease did not stem from 400-plus hours at Ground Zero but because he had been injecting himself with ground-up pills. “My son was not on drugs,” she said. “My son is a hero.”

    Bloomberg, speaking at Harvard University on Monday, relayed Hirsh’s findings when asked about applying hard science to public policy.

    “It’s just, in this case, science says this was not a hero,” the mayor said. “A nice human being, a tragic death, all of that is true.”

    A New Jersey medical examiner ruled last year that Zadroga died in January 2006 at age 34 from inhaling toxic dust, making him a symbol of ailing 9/11 rescue workers. Zadroga’s family then sought Hirsh’s opinion so he could be included in the city’s official Sept. 11 victims list and forthcoming memorial.

    “We could care less about money,” Linda Zadroga said. “We want our granddaughter to know her father was a hero. We don’t want her to hear that her father was a drug addict, which he wasn’t.”

    Detectives’ Endowment Association President Michael Palladino said his constituents had lost faith in Bloomberg and that his comments were an insult to hundreds of rescue workers who say they have become ill since their time on the pile. “I urge the mayor to publicly apologize to Zadroga’s family and his workforce,” Palladino said.

    Meanwhile, Bloomberg yesterday praised Zadroga.

    “This was a great NYPD officer who dedicated himself, put his life in harm’s way hundreds of times during his career, and you can use your own definition — I think it’s a question of how you want to define what a hero is,” he said. “And certainly I did not mean to hurt the family or impugn his reputation.”
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  10. #370
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    Mayor Backs Away From Questioning Dead Officer’s Heroism

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/ny...l?ref=nyregion

    By DIANE CARDWELL
    Published: October 31, 2007

    Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg backed away yesterday from his earlier statements that James Zadroga, a police detective who worked for hundreds of hours on the smoldering pile at ground zero, was “not a hero” because the city’s chief medical examiner ruled his death was not directly related to dust from the trade center site.

    Go to City Room » “This was a great N.Y.P.D. officer who dedicated himself — put his life in harm’s way hundreds of times during his career — and you can use your own definition,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference in Brooklyn when asked if he regretted his earlier comments. “It’s a question of how you want to define what a hero is, and certainly I did not mean to hurt the family or impugn his reputation.”

    A New Jersey pathologist concluded in 2006 that Mr. Zadroga’s death was directly related to his work at ground zero, but New York City’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, recently rejected that finding. He concluded that it was misuse of prescription medication, not World Trade Center dust, that caused the detective’s lung ailments.

    The tone of Mr. Bloomberg’s comments yesterday veered sharply from statements he made on Monday after receiving an award from the Harvard School of Public Health. Asked why science could be unpopular, he said that it sometimes provided answers that people did not want to hear, as in the case of Mr. Zadroga. Referring to Dr. Hirsch’s finding, he said, “Nobody wanted to hear that.”

    “We wanted to have a hero, and there are plenty of heroes,” he said. “It’s just in this case, science says this was not a hero.”

    Yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg described Detective Zadroga as “a dedicated police officer” with an impressive record who “volunteered to work downtown, and I think that the odds are that he clearly got sick because of breathing the air — but that’s up to the doctors.”

    That did little to assuage Mr. Zadroga’s family, their lawyer, Michael Barasch, said. He said that the only thing that would satisfy the family was an apology and adding Mr. Zadroga’s name to the official list of 9/11 victims, which Mr. Bloomberg said he would not seek to do because of Dr. Hirsch’s ruling.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


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