A Fallen Hero - Video Inside

AP Newbreak: Bush's budget proposes adding 9/11 health funds

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/30/america/NA-GEN-US-Attacks-Health.php

The Associated PressPublished: January 30, 2007

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration plans to keep funding health programs for sick ground zero workers, enough to keep the effort alive at least through 2007, New York lawmakers said Tuesday.

New York Rep. Vito Fossella, a Republican, said the administration next week will propose spending at least $25 million (€19.3 million) more to fund a Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and a related effort for New York firefighters.

"It's a breakthrough," said Fossella. "For the first time in the federal budget there will be a down payment to provide for funding for continued treatment and monitoring for 9/11 responders who need our help."

Word of the new money comes a day before Bush is due to speak in New York City about the economy, and sick Sept. 11 workers plan a rally timed to the visit. It is also a week before Bush offers his budget proposal to the U.S. Congress.

New York lawmakers have spent years lobbying for funding to support ground zero workers suffering from health problems. New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat, called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected."

The issue gained new attention last week when a former New York City police officer died of lung problems, more than five years after he worked at ground zero.

Cesar Borja was 52, and died awaiting a lung transplant. His son, Ceasar Borja, Jr., is seeking a personal meeting with Bush in New York. The 21-year-old college student attended Bush's annual State of the Union address to Congress last week — hours after his father's death — to call attention to the issue.

A White House official said Bush is "hopeful" a meeting can be arranged.

The government delivered $75 million (€57.8 million) for Sept. 11 health programs last year, but health advocates had warned that money was due to run out by the summer.

Under the new White House proposal, those programs would remain funded through the end of the year — and their inclusion in the president's budget suggests it may be easier to continue funding through future years.

The Borja case is one of several deaths that have generated increasing public pressure for the government to do more for those who are still sick years after working on the toxic debris pile at the World Trade Center site.

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has called for a $1.9 billion (€1.46 billion) federal effort to provide years of treatment to those sick workers.

Mount Sinai Medical Center, which has screened about 19,000 such workers, released a report last year finding nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems.
 
Sick 9/11 workers plan rally timed to Bush NYC visit today

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070131/FRONT01/70131005

1/31/2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ceasar Borja Jr. lost his father last week when the former New York City police officer died awaiting a lung transplant, more than five years after he worked at ground zero.

A day after the Bush administration announced that it would propose spending at least $25 million more to fund a Sept. 11-related health care program, Borja, 21, may get a chance to meet with the president to talk about ailing ground zero workers.

"I want the president to know that he has to take care of these people, because many more will die," Borja told the Daily News in Wednesday's edition. "Any sum of money is a help, and I just hope that it continues."

Bush is expected in the city on Wednesday where he will give a speech on the economy, while sick Sept. 11 workers planned a rally timed to his visit.

The administration next week will propose the additional funding of the Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and a related effort for New York firefighters.

White House officials said they would consider providing more money, depending on the findings of a separate government task force that is examining Sept. 11-related health issues.

"We consider this a good starting point," said White House budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan.

The programs had been expected to run out of money by the summer. A grant made last year of $75 million was expected to last until then.

Rep. Vito Fossella, R-Staten Island, called the news "a breakthrough" after years of seeking more help from the government.

"For the first time in the federal budget there will be a down payment to provide for funding for continued treatment and monitoring for Sept. 11 responders who need our help," Fossella said.

The issue of ailing ground zero workers gained new attention just last week when former police officer Cesar Borja, 52, died of lung problems. His son, a college student, attended Bush's annual State of the Union address to Congress last week -- hours after his father's death -- to call attention to the issue.

Borja came as the personal guest of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said Tuesday she was pleased "the President has agreed to meet with Ceasar Borja Jr. tomorrow and to hear his family's case for funding vitally needed to keep our treatment programs open. ... We cannot allow these critical health care services to dry up."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding "encouraging," adding in a statement that treatment programs "are working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington."

Fossella said he learned of the additional funding in a Tuesday morning meeting with the head of the White House budget office, Rob Portman. Two other New York Republicans, Peter King, of Long Island, and James Walsh, of Syracuse, also attended the meeting.

The White House often gives lawmakers advance notice of good news contained in the budget proposal, which must still be approved by Congress.

Fossella and Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan have spent years lobbying for Sept. 11 health funding. Maloney, D-N.Y., called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected," including lower Manhattan residents.

The $25 million figure would probably change after the administration gets more details from the hospital and New York City about their patients, and Fossella said the goal was not to hit a specific dollar target but to continue treating those patients.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat whose district includes ground zero, said the $25 million was a "first step forward" in getting the government to respond to the health needs but argued the dollar figure was grossly inadequate.

Under the new White House proposal, those programs would remain funded through the end of the year -- and their inclusion in the president's budget suggests it may be easier to continue funding through future years.

"Obviously, it's going to cost more than $25 million," said King. "But in the course of the last year, they've seen the health problems arising from 9/11, so now the only question is what is the extent of it and how to meet those needs."

The death last week of Officer Borja is one of several fatalities that have generated increasing public pressure for the government to do more for those who are still sick years after working on the toxic debris pile at the World Trade Center site.

Clinton, D-N.Y., has called for a $1.9 billion federal effort to provide years of treatment to those sick workers.

Mount Sinai, which has screened some 19,000 such workers, released a report last year finding nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems.

One of the doctors who authored that study, Dr. Robin Herbert, has said thousands will likely need long-term health care.
 
President Meets With Son Of 9/11 First Responder

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=66383

January 31, 2007

President George W. Bush was in the city today to deliver a speech on the economy, but he also met with the son of a September 11th, 2001 first responder, who died last week waiting for a lung transplant.

Bush met with Ceasar Borja, Jr., who has been on a crusade in his father's name to get funding for other first responders who have become ill.

During the meeting Borja, Jr. said he asked for the federal government to completely fund any medical treatment for anyone suffering for a 9/11 related illness.

"I expressed how the funding should be expanded, not just for the heroes and heroines that were present there without hesitation, who ran to save, rescue, and ensure a future for all of the lives that they found there."

Borja, Jr., who brought his mother and siblings to the meeting with the president, also credited the residents and merchants of Lower Manhattan for their speedy recovery of the WTC area.

The meeting comes along with word from the White House that it will budget $25 million to help ailing 9/11 workers. The money is being set aside for programs at Mount Sinai Medical Center and for New York City firefighters.

"There is finally an acknowledgement at the federal level that there is a federal responsibility to help those men and women who responded so heroically and volunteered their services after 9/11," said Staten Island Congressman Vito Fossella.

Critics at a rally by the WTC site today say $25 million is hardly enough to treat the looming health care problems.

The White House calls the money a starting point and says it will consider more funding in the future.

Meanwhile, the president gave a State of the Economy speech before a crowd of business and political leaders at Federal Hall this morning. During the address he was very optimistic about the economy. Introduced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bush applauded the city’s recovery after 9/11. He called on Congress to keep taxes low and invest in alternative fuel sources.

Bush also took on the huge salaries and bonuses that some corporate executives received and the outrage that followed. The president said those pay packages should be made public.

“Government should not decide the compensation for America’s corporate executives,” said Bush. “But the salaries and bonuses of CEOs should be based on their success on approving their companies and bringing value to their shareholders.”

The president also revealed that he is allocating $2 billion in his budget to help construct the JFK Lower Manhattan Rail Link something that both city and state officials have been lobbying for quite some time.
 
Sick 9/11 workers protest at Ground Zero

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/am-groundzero0201,0,1528416.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 31, 2007, 1:51 PM EST

Sick 9/11 workers and residents gathered near ground zero before President Bush's speech on Wednesday to criticize as inadequate his proposal to spend an additional $25 million to fund a health care program.

About a dozen people rallied near the World Trade Center site about an hour before Bush delivered the economic speech at nearby Federal Hall.

Ceasar Borja Jr., who lost his father, a ground zero worker, last week was originally scheduled to attend the rally. But instead, he was preparing for a meeting with the president.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush planned to meet privately after his speech with Borja; his mother, Eva; brother, Evan; and sister, Nhia.

"First responders who need treatment will get the treatment they need," Snow said earlier Wednesday. "Many are already covered by insurance programs, many through their union; but if there are gaps in that, we're going to do it." Rally participant Mariama James, who lives four blocks from ground zero and has three children with health problems she attributes to Sept. 11, said she spends $480 a month in copays for their allergy, sinusitis and asthma medicines.

"You have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to protect us from those who would do us harm," James said of Bush. "We ask that you protect us from those who did us harm. The $25 million is not enough even for the needs of the workers." The Bush administration next week will propose the additional funding of the Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center and a related effort for New York firefighters.

White House officials said they would consider providing more money, depending on the findings of a separate government task force.

"We consider this a good starting point," White House budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan said Tuesday.

The programs had been expected to run out of money by the summer. A grant made last year of $75 million was expected to last until then.

Protester Marvin Bethea, 47, said doctors have told him that those who responded to ground zero on the first day had their lungs age 12 years.

He said "$25 million is absolutely not enough," pointing out that some legislators, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, have proposed $1.9 billion in additional funds. "That's a big gap." "Bush does not fathom the full picture," agreed Ron Vega, 48, who spent 10 months at ground zero as a construction project manager. "People started dying and now they pay attention. Unless you're dying or dead, no one pays attention." Mount Sinai, which has screened some 19,000 such workers, said last year that nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems. One of the doctors who authored that study, Dr. Robin Herbert, has said thousands will likely need long-term health care.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding "encouraging," adding that treatment programs "are working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington." Reps. Vito Fossella and Carolyn Maloney have spent years lobbying for Sept. 11 health funding. Maloney, D-N.Y., on Tuesday called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected," including lower Manhattan residents.

The $25 million figure would probably change after the administration gets more details from the hospital and New York City about their patients, and Fossella said the goal was not to hit a specific dollar target but to continue treating those patients.
 
9/11 Workers: Bush Health Upgrade Plan Inadequate

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/...n=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1

By VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press Writer
Created: Wednesday, 31 Jan 2007, 12:11 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Sick 9/11 workers and residents gathered near ground zero before President Bush's speech on Wednesday to criticize as inadequate his proposal to spend an additional $25 million to fund a health care program.

About a dozen people rallied near the World Trade Center site about an hour before Bush delivered the economic speech at nearby Federal Hall.

Ceasar Borja Jr., who lost his father, a ground zero worker, last week was originally scheduled to attend the rally. But instead, he was preparing for a meeting with the president.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush planned to meet privately after his speech with Borja; his mother, Eva; brother, Evan; and sister, Nhia.

"First responders who need treatment will get the treatment they need," Snow said earlier Wednesday. "Many are already covered by insurance programs, many through their union; but if there are gaps in that, we're going to do it."

Rally participant Mariama James, who lives four blocks from ground zero and has three children with health problems she attributes to Sept. 11, said she spends $480 a month in copays for their allergy, sinusitis and asthma medicines.

"You have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to protect us from those who would do us harm," James said of Bush. "We ask that you protect us from those who did us harm. The $25 million is not enough even for the needs of the workers."

The Bush administration next week will propose the additional funding of the Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center and a related effort for New York firefighters.

White House officials said they would consider providing more money, depending on the findings of a separate government task force.

"We consider this a good starting point," White House budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan said Tuesday.

The programs had been expected to run out of money by the summer. A grant made last year of $75 million was expected to last until then.

Protester Marvin Bethea, 47, said doctors have told him that those who responded to ground zero on the first day had their lungs age 12 years.

He said "$25 million is absolutely not enough," pointing out that some legislators, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, have proposed $1.9 billion in additional funds. "That's a big gap."

"Bush does not fathom the full picture," agreed Ron Vega, 48, who spent 10 months at ground zero as a construction project manager. "People started dying and now they pay attention. Unless you're dying or dead, no one pays attention."

Mount Sinai, which has screened some 19,000 such workers, said last year that nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems. One of the doctors who authored that study, Dr. Robin Herbert, has said thousands will likely need long-term health care.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding "encouraging," adding that treatment programs "are working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington."

Reps. Vito Fossella and Carolyn Maloney have spent years lobbying for Sept. 11 health funding. Maloney, D-N.Y., on Tuesday called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected," including lower Manhattan residents.

The $25 million figure would probably change after the administration gets more details from the hospital and New York City about their patients, and Fossella said the goal was not to hit a specific dollar target but to continue treating those patients.
 
verysad.gif
 
Health problems linger for 9/11 workers

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/16631550.htm

RUBÉN ROSARIO
2/7/2007

Nearly a month after his wife was seriously burned in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Greg Manning summoned the courage to visit Ground Zero.

The World Trade Center office executive needed an escort with security clearance. He found one in Lucie Ferrell, a former Augsburg College nursing professor and senior American Red Cross volunteer from the Twin Cities.

"Over the past week, (Ferrell) has spent considerable time at the hospital, coordinating Red Cross assistance with the various patient families,'' Manning writes in "Love, Greg and Lauren'' (Bantam Books, 2002).

The book is an emotionally moving collection of e-mails Manning sent to a network of friends during his wife's painful but inspiring recovery from burns on more than 80 percent of her body.

"(Ferrell) has pointed out that the disaster is larger than anything the organization has experienced, and notes that we are all — patients, families, health care workers and volunteers — writing the rules as we go: how to deal with individual loss and collective loss and how to come with the daily and long-term struggles that so many of us are facing.''

The words were prophetic.

More than five years later, Ferrell is among the thousands of Ground Zero workers and volunteers suffering from long-term health problems as a result of their exposure to toxic chemicals and materials that lingered in the air at the site for months.

Ferrell, who had a mild case of asthma before her volunteer work, has the telltale "World Trade Center cough" that doctors have found in many cases.

She also suffers from stomach ailments that have plagued others as well. She has vocal cord dysfunction, a serious condition that involuntarily closes off the breathing passage.

"It's something to live with,'' says Ferrell, a Mahtomedi resident who worked as a manager at a White Bear Lake coffee shop until health problems forced her to take a leave of absence recently.

Ferrell also is concerned about the welfare of other Ground Zero workers from Minnesota who may not have linked their health problems with their exposure or are not aware of health responses to the exposure.

"I believe there are others out there who may not know,'' says Ferrell.

A study released last fall by New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center found almost 70 percent of 9,500 Ground Zero workers, volunteers and others examined had new or worsened respiratory symptoms such as laryngitis, asthma and vocal cord dysfunction.

More than 800 people from 39 states, including Minnesota, and two Canadian provinces underwent medical screening for Ground Zero-related symptoms at clinics affiliated with the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics.

Of those, eight were screened in Minnesota, says Katherine Kirkland, the association's executive director. The clinics, under a contract first with Mount Sinai and now with the American Red Cross, may pick up exam and treatment costs for certain illnesses if the patients meet a criteria set up by the World Trade Center Medical Screening Program. One criterion is that the patient must have performed certain functions at Ground Zero from Sept 11, 2001, until the end of that year.

"We really would like, if there are people out there, to get the word out about this,'' said Kirkland, adding the bulk of publicity over the post-9/11 health concerns has mostly dealt with the greater New York area.

Ferrell herself was unaware of the clinics performing the services. She came back to the Twin Cities and saw a battery of doctors who may have been clueless about the Ground Zero link. In fact, New York City's Department of Health reportedly did not release any guidelines for diagnosing 9/11-related illnesses until this past summer.

Respiratory experts at the National Jewish Research and Medical Center in Denver made the connection.

Besides medical assistance, officials at the New York State Worker's Compensation Board also are urging those who worked or volunteered at Ground Zero to register for financial compensation before Aug. 14. Again, the board has its own criteria for those who may be eligible. But the registration is valid for those who don't feel ill at all.

"We have learned from the events following the (1999) bombing in Oklahoma City that some victims don't exhibit or display symptoms — particularly on the mental health end — until six years after the event,'' said Jonathan Bennett, director of public affairs at the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. The union advocacy group has monitored government's response to the terrorist attacks and posts a daily news digest of health-related information on its Web site.

"Ferrell estimates her medical bills approach $100,000, most of it on her dime because she did not have health insurance after she returned. She is now in danger of losing her home. But still, she has no regrets.

"I would do it all over again," she says. "It was without a doubt a life-affirming experience. I just hope that people out there get the help they need.''

Rubén Rosario can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5454.

More information: To learn about Ground Zero benefits eligibility, contact the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics at 888-347-2632 or the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program at 888-702-0630.

Online: The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health posts a news digest of 9/11-related issues at www.nycosh.org.
 
9/11 responder to President: We need more

78284a_N507.jpg


http://www.liherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17828189&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=477736&rfi=6

By Brian Zanzonico
February 08, 2007

Vito Valenti wants to be the voice of ill 9/11 responders, and he wants the President to hear him.

When Vito Valenti walked into Gleason Funeral Home in Bayside for the funeral of NYPD officer Ceasar Borja, oxygen tank in tow, most of the wet eyes turned to him.

Most of the people there knew about Valenti, he said. Knew that he, like Borja, worked at ground zero after the attacks of 9/11. They also knew that pulmonary fibrosis, which killed Borja, was devastating Valenti's lungs.

"It was open casket, and I was sitting there looking at Ceasar, and for a second, I saw myself lying in the casket," Valenti said. "I got up and had to walk to the back."

Borja's 21-year-old son, Cesar, campaigned during his father's last days for the White House to allocate more money to treat ground zero workers who have gotten ill from breathing in the toxic dust that settled after the two towers fell. Borja was a guest of Sen. Hillary Clinton at Bush's State of the Union address in Washington, and later met with the president when he visited New York. A day before their meeting, Bush announced he will propose spending at least $25 million more to fund a health care program for 9/11 responders at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and a separate program for New York firefighters.

Valenti said $25 million would be a good start, but that much more is needed to care for the ailing workers who spent extended periods of time at ground zero.

"Is it enough? No, I don't think it's enough," Valenti said last week, noting that days before Bush's announcement, Clinton, who was at the Elmont American Legion hall stumping for Democratic candidate for state Senate Craig Johnson, asked Bush for $1.9 billion. "I've been told that a double lung transplant costs maybe three or four million dollars, and that's one person."

Valenti's lungs were severely damaged by the toxins he inhaled while working at ground zero following the 9/11 attacks, and as a result he needs a double lung transplant. Forced to quit his job as a grievance representative for Local 372, which represents Board of Education employees, because of the illness, Valenti also had to give up his health benefits. He has lived on donated oxygen for months because the deadline for reporting workers' compensation claims expired long before he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Without a double lung transplant, pulmonary fibrosis sufferers usually die within five or six years.

His health insurance ran out before he completed a series of tests that would have put him on the national waiting list for a lung transplant. But a judge ruled on Dec. 20, 2006, that Valenti is entitled to workers' compensation, which will cover medical expenses associated with his pulmonary fibrosis and allow him to see doctors and finally get his name on the transplant list. He also receives $400 a week in back pay from August 2005.

John Feal, Valenti's friend and the founder of the Feal Good Foundation, an advocacy group for 9/11 first responders suffering from ground zero-related illnesses, called the workers' compensation ruling encouraging, but added that more must be done to help those who have gotten sick. "Individually, that's great," said Feal, a demolition supervisor who lost part of his foot when it was crushed by an eight-ton beam during the recovery effort at ground zero. "What stinks is that so many others in his position that have 9/11 illnesses still have problems getting [their compensation], or may never get theirs. Vito won a battle, but it's still a long war."

Valenti said there are many others like him, and to draw attention to their plight, he wants to be the living, breathing symbol of the 9/11 responders who have gotten ill.

"I want to be the voice," he said. "I want to go to the president and say 'enough is enough, we've lost too many lives.'"

At Borja's wake, as Valenti offered condolences to the late policeman's family, his wife grabbed him.

"Cesar's mom said, Are you Vito? She burst out crying and held me," Valenti said.

"My heart goes out to you. I see you with the oxygen tank and I think of my husband. God bless you."

Comments about this story? [email protected] or (516) 569-4000 ext. 240.
 
Coroner: Not Sure If 9/11 Toxins Killed Borja

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/...n=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Last Edited: Saturday, 10 Feb 2007, 9:37 PM EST
Created: Saturday, 10 Feb 2007, 9:37 PM EST

MyFoxNY.com -- New York City's chief medical examiner found that a rare lung disease killed retired cop and 9/11 first responder Cesar Borja.

However, he can't exactly say what caused Borja's illness.

His family believes toxic air at Ground Zero is to blame. Borja was among the first responders who worked at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Borja's death inspired President Bush to earmark $25 million to help pay medical expenses for first responders.

Cesar Borja died Jan. 23. His son, Ceasar Jr., attended the president's State of the Union address with Sen. Hillary Clinton.
 
A NIGHT FOR JOE
Benefit set for 9/11 rescue worker

bilde.jpg


http://www.ocobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007702110325

BY ANGELA SANTORIELLO
STAFF WRITER
Posted by the Ocean County Observer on 02/11/07

TOMS RIVER — It still feels like the Twin Towers are falling for Joe Picurro.

Picurro, a 9/11 responder who spent 28 days at Ground Zero, has lost 26 pounds in the last three weeks, due to the leukemia he was diagnosed with in August that is directly related to his 28-day volunteer work.

His doctor told him Friday afternoon it is likely the leukemia has reached stage four. "He is really, really bad," said Joe's wife Laura. "He hasn't been able to get out of bed for almost three weeks."

Under his doctor's advice, Joe Picurro has not received chemotherapy for his cancer because of the severe vomiting that is caused from the radiation treatment. Doctors said the chemotherapy could cause further cancer in Picurro's throat and a bone marrow transplant would be a safer form of treatment.

"They agreed to tell me when it was late in the game and now it's late in the game," he said.

Picurro will be admitted into a hospital in two weeks so doctors can find a bone marrow match. While Picurro is hopeful one of this two twin sisters will be a match, friend John Feal said he would be the back up plan.

"I offered my bone marrow to him," said Feal. "I would sacrifice myself for any 9/11 responder."

Aside from offering his own marrow, Feal's nonprofit organization — the FealGood Foundation — was created to assist responders like Picurro. The foundation will be sponsoring an upcoming benefit for Picurro and responder Father Stephen Petrovich along with the Artists4Hope organization.

The benefit costs $50 a ticket and is free for 9/11 responders. It will be held from 2-7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Captain Hooks in Seaside Heights with The Hitmen performing while guests enjoy food, giveaways, raffle drawing and the auctioning of a Paul Reed Smith guitar that was sent to the recent James Brown Tribute in Los Angeles for performing artists' signatures.

The cherry wood electric guitar has signatures from band members in 3 Doors Down, the David Sanborn band, the Ted Nugent band, the Dixie Chicks, the Jethro Tull band, Quiet Riot and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.

Paul Reed also placed his signature on the guitar he donated for the benefit and paid for it to be transported to Los Angeles and back to the Picurro's home for the benefit.

The guitar will be posted on eBay Feb. 14 so it can receive the most exposure before the event and the auctioning will end at the benefit with the highest bidder. Feal said he started the foundation to help responders financially and to advocate for them before the U.S. Congress. A 9/11 responder himself for 5 days, Feal lost half of his left foot at Ground Zero when an 8,000 pound beam fell on his foot, causing gangrene to set in, requiring a partial amputation.

Feal said after he felt sorry for himself for about a year; then, after he realized other responders were worse off, he decided to create the FealGood Foundation. "People are suffering and dying and there is nothing I can do to save Joe Picurro and Father Stephen, but I can help ease the pain," he said.

Feal believes the recent $25 million pledge by President Bush to help rescue workers who have been sickened from the site is "political bread crumbs."

"They shouldn't have to suffer because the federal government remains idle," he said, adding, "And the lack of compassion that has trickled down from our leaders has become a snowball in society where 9/11 responders are being forgotten."

Petrovich came to New York from Cleveland to bless the Ground Zero soil, and to help where he could. He said yesterday from his home in Ohio he was blessed himself to meet Joe and Laura Picurro.

The 17 days Petrovich spent keeping the faith among responders, he developed a chronic lung disease and had to have a precancerous part of tongue removed.

"They (government officials) knew who were there because of our identification and never contacted to us tell us something could have been wrong with us," he said, adding Laura Picurro was the one who "knew New York proper" and gave him the numbers he needed to be treated for the illness he contacted from Ground Zero. "It was our duty to go."

While Laura is fighting to keep her husband alive, she is still helping provide the needed assistance for Petrovich, arranging a free round trip flight donated by the Salvation Army of Union and seeing that the Hershey Motel in Seaside Heights would donate a room for his stay along with three other rooms for first responders who will coming to the benefit.

"He is coming up for the benefit but the main thing is to get him to Mount Sinai on the Monday after the benefit," Laura said, adding she will be taking him to New York.

Though the Joe Picurro has been denied funds and treatment promised him by the New York Worker's Compensation Board and the federal government, leaving the family with $63,000 in unpaid medical bills, Laura Picurro said the benefit is not about money that will be raised but more importantly it is "to raise awareness about what we are going through." t

She said a hundred percent of the benefit proceeds will be split between her husband Joe and Petrovich.

"New York (Workers Compensation Board) made it clear they will not cover any type of cancer treatment," she said, adding she can longer be anxious over insurance coverage because she is to concerned with her husband's health.

To purchase a ticket to the benefit or make a donation to Picurro or Petrovich, visit www.fealgoodfoundation.com.
 
'NYT' Disputes Media -- And Politicians' -- Accounts of 9/11 'Hero'

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003544946

By E&P Staff
Published: February 12, 2007 11:00 PM ET

NEW YORK In a major Tuesday article, The New York Times casts doubts on recent accounts -- by everyone from rival New York Daily News to President Bush and Sen. Hillary Clinton -- of an alleged hero of 9/11, a New York City police officer named Cesar A. Borja.

It's not disputed that he indeed died of lung disease and spent time at Ground Zero in New York. He has been "held up as a symbol of the medical crisis affecting the thousands of emergency personnel and construction workers who labored on the smoking remains of the fallen World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack," as the Times puts it. This even brought his son an invitation to sit in the gallery, and earn an ovation, at this year's State of the Union address.

But the Times' Sewell Chan and Al Baker now write on Tuesday, "It turns out, though, that very few of the most dramatic aspects of Officer Borja’s powerful story appear to be fully accurate. Government records and detailed interviews with Officer Borja’s family indicate that he did not rush to the disaster site, and that he did not work a formal shift there until late December 2001, after substantial parts of the site had been cleared and the fire in the remaining pile had been declared out.

"Officer Borja worked traffic and security posts on the streets around the site, according to his own memo book, and there is no record of his working 16 hours in a shift. He worked a total of 17 days, according to his records, and did not work as a volunteer there. He signed up for the traffic duty, his wife said, at least in part as a way to increase his overtime earnings as he prepared to retire.

“'It’s not true,' Eva R. Borja, the officer’s wife, said of the Daily News account of his rushing there shortly after the collapse of the trade center. In two extensive interviews, Mrs. Borja displayed her husband’s memo book, where he kept detailed notes about his work across his career. The first entry for working at ground zero is Dec. 24, 2001. Almost all the rest come in February, March and April 2002, five or more months after the attacks.

"Mrs. Borja said she still believed her husband was sickened in his work around the site. Shown his father’s memo book, Ceasar Borja, who had become something of a spokesman for ailing 9/11 workers, said it was the first time he understood what his father had actually done....

"It is hard to determine precisely how the apparent misinformation about Mr. Borja’s work at ground zero came to be reflected in newspapers, as well as in television and radio broadcasts. The family says it was not the source of the claims about working on the smoking pile. A spokeswoman for The Daily News insisted the paper had never explicitly said Officer Borja had rushed there soon after Sept. 11, only that at some point he had rushed there. Despite a number of articles and editorials that referred to him working amid the rubble and within a cloud of glass and concrete, she said the paper never actually reported his arriving there before December....

"Other newspaper accounts repeated the account of Officer Borja’s work on the rubble without attributing it to anyone.

"Mrs. Borja and her son said that The New York Times was the first newspaper to ask them for documents showing Officer Borja’s actual duties at ground zero."

The Times story continued, explaining that Borja's son had emailed newspapers and The Daily News responded. Throughout January, The News and other papers published numerous articles on Officer Borja’s case. The News "comped" the son's trip to Washington for the State of the Union speech.

The New York Times itself published an article on Officer Borja, after he died at 52 on the evening of the State of the Union address. The article said he had died after becoming sick after working at ground zero.

The Tuesday article concludes: "Finally, Ceasar Borja, after having absorbed the implications of his father’s records, said he was no less proud. 'I’m actually happy to know he wasn’t on the pile,' he said, adding that those who were must be in even graver shape. He concluded: 'I don’t believe my father to be any less heroic than I previously thought, any less valiant than the other papers previously misreported on.'”
 
Doubts Raised About 9/11 Cop Borja's Story
Son Met With Bush, Who Promised Help For Ground Zero Workers

http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/local_story_044062044.html

Magee Hickey
2/13/2007

(CBS) NEW YORK Doubts are being raised about the story of Cesar Borja, the former New York City police officer who died of lung disease that was attributed to his work at Ground Zero. But how much he actually worked at Ground Zero is now in question.

In death, Cesar Borja became the poster child for ailing 9/11 recovery workers. The police officer died while awaiting a lung transplant. He had rushed to Ground Zero, according to the Daily News, after the World Trade Center towers fell.

He reportedly breathed in the toxic dust and did not wear protective gear because the federal government declared that the air was safe.

Sen. Hillary Clinton and President Bush both embraced his son, Ceasar Borja Jr.

(PHOTO: President Bush met with the Borja family in early February.)

CBS 2 was there when Ceasar Borja Jr. got the call from Rep. Vito Fossella, asking him to meet with Bush on during the president's trip to the city.

"I just want to say to the president, 'You have the honor and the power to help, and you can stop this. You can prevent this, and you can do this right now,'" Borja Jr. said.

"This to me is not just a photo op -- this is a meeting a crucial meeting. I am not a poster boy. I am a voice, and I am fighting for this," said Borja Jr.

After meeting the 21 year old, Bush promised more money for first responders -- those first on the scene in the days and weeks after the terrorist attacks.

But now, according to a Page One story in The New York Times, many of the facts in the Borja story are not quite accurate.

The police officer, 46-years-old at the time, apparently did not rush to work on "the pile."

According to government records and interviews with family members, Borja did not arrive at Ground Zero until December 24, 2001 -- four months after the attacks. He worked traffic and security on the streets around the site, according to his own memo book, for a total of 17 days.

There were no 16-hour shifts, and according to his widow, he worked traffic duty as a way to increase his overtime earnings as he prepared to retire.

Mrs. Borja said that she still believes her husband was sickened by his work around the site, and Ceasar Borja Jr. said he never called his dying father a "first responder" until newspaper stories did.

A city autopsy on Cesar Borja is still underway. Doctors say there might still be a connection between his death and his work at Ground Zero.
 
FDNY HAS $$ CURE FOR WTC WOES

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02132007/news/regionalnews/fdny_has__cure_for_wtc_woes_regionalnews_carl_campanile.htm

By CARL CAMPANILE

February 13, 2007 -- Thousands of sick World Trade Center rescue workers - including firefighters and paramedics - will get free prescription drugs to help treat their medical conditions, the FDNY said yesterday.

Fire brass said they're using millions of dollars in federal funds to help subsidize the purchase of medications and waive the typical co-payment required as part of city/labor health plans.

WTC responders have complained they've had to front the costs for expensive medications and pay hundreds of dollars in co-payments.

Union officials say they've had to deplete health-benefits funds to help cover the extraordinary 9/11-related drug costs.
 
NY Mayor Seeks More Federal Money for 9/11 Victims

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-02-13-voa70.cfm

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
13 February 2007

In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the chorus of state officials calling on the federal government to provide the city with more funding for sustained treatment of 9/11-related illnesses. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports.

Bloomberg made public the findings of a panel assigned to review the health impact of the 9/11 attacks on the city and to determine what needs to be done to help those affected over the long term.

The panel found a significant lack of funding for 9/11 health programs, including absolutely no federal support for the treatment of residents and other non-first responders.

The report concludes that the health impact of the attacks on the World Trade Center September 11, 2001, is costing New York's health care system $393 million each year. The panel recommends the federal government contribute $150 million a year for essential health programs.

Bloomberg says he welcomes President Bush's recent pledge of an additional $25 million to the city. But he says it is not enough. At the very least, the mayor says, the federal government must cover the costs that are essential.

"President Bush's preliminary budget does not address these ongoing needs so I will work closely with our congressional delegation to make sure this critical funding is secured. I believe that our first responders were responding to an act of war against this nation and the federal has a clear responsibility to them that it must meet," he said.

Bloomberg says he is accepting all the reports recommendations, including the establishment of a new Victims Compensation Fund.

The Mayor is scheduled to testify on the health funding issue next month before a Senate committee.
 
HEROES WORRY OVER BAD NEWS

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02142007/news/regionalnews/heroes_worry_over_bad_news_regionalnews_.htm

By CARL CAMPANILE and DAN KADISON

February 14, 2007 -- Advocates for ailing World Trade Center responders worried yesterday that the inaccurate account of Police Officer Cesar Borja's work at Ground Zero could hurt the real heroes who showed up on 9/11 and toiled there for months.

The concern stems from a series of Daily News articles that claimed Borja had "rushed" to Ground Zero and worked "in the rubble, breathing in clouds of toxic dust."

However, The New York Times, in a lengthy and detailed investigative report yesterday, revealed that Borja, who died last month of lung-related disease, didn't arrive at Ground Zero until 31/2 months after the attacks, when the fire had been extinguished - mostly to direct traffic several blocks from the smoldering pile.

The Times said Borja worked there for only 17 days.

David Worby, a lawyer representing thousands of WTC responders in a federal negligence suit against the city, said numerous ailing clients called him yesterday in response to the Times report fretting that people won't believe that their illnesses were caused by breathing toxic dust at Ground Zero.

"My clients were disappointed that their credibility could be an issue," Worby said.

"I'm very disappointed with the Daily News," he added. "If you make a poster boy out of someone, you better know what the poster is about."

Detective Mike Valentin, 42, a responder who was at Ground Zero the day the towers fell and worked there for months, said he was disturbed by the disclosure that Borja had spent little time at Ground Zero.

"I think people were looking for a poster child and they picked the wrong one," said Valentin, who worries that Congress now may be wary of providing new health funding for first responders.

Publisher Mort Zuckerman's Daily News reported last month that Borja was hospitalized with pulmonary fibrosis, awaiting a lung transplant - linking his life-threatening illness to working "16-hour shifts in the rubble, breathing in clouds of toxic dust."

"He rushed to Ground Zero and started working long days there - even volunteering to work extra shifts," the News wrote in a Jan. 16 account.

Borja's son, Ceasar Jr., bolstered the account in subsequent statements to the media - drawing the sympathy of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Bush.

Clinton invited Borja Jr. to the president's State of the Union Address - and his father died hours before the speech. Bush met him the following week.

According to the Times, Borja Sr. didn't work an assignment at Ground Zero until Dec. 24, 2001.

Eva Borja, asked by the Times about the Daily News' claims that her husband "rushed" to Ground Zero, admitted: "It's not true."

A Daily News spokeswoman declined comment.

The Times stood by its story, saying it "sought to provide the most accurate depiction of Officer Borja's service near the disaster site at Ground Zero."

Meanwhile, the Borjas yesterday said they didn't intend to lie about Cesar's service, and were eaten alive in a media maelstrom.

"I didn't have time to be correcting everybody. I thought it didn't matter to me. What mattered to me is he got sick and he passed away," Eva Borja said.

The family also insisted that eyewitnesses told them Cesar did work on the pile at some point.
 
9/11 First Responders: 'We're Dead Men Walking'
Years After Attacks, Many Face Reality Death May Be Near

http://wcbstv.com/seenon/local_story_047002528.html

Dana Tyler
2/16/2007

(CBS) NEW YORK More than five years after the 9/11 terror attacks, the full impact of that day is still unknown. First responders who rushed into the collapsing buildings are dealing with health issues they believe could be just the tip of the iceberg.

CBS 2 spoke to many who now say they are dead men walking.

First responders charged toward ground zero on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, united in their mission.

"I saw the second plane hit, both towers come down," Vito Valente said. "It went from day to night."

"When things are at their very worst is when we are at our very best," Mike McCormack added. "It subsequently changed my life forever."

Today, seven out of every 10 suffer from respiratory disease.

And that's just the beginning.

"My wife to this day is still pulling pieces of glass out of my back," John Feal said. "I have nose bleeds on a regular basis, ringing of the ears, can't sleep."

CBS 2 spoke to just six of the 33,000 people who are now being treated after working at ground zero. As time goes by, new health problems emerge, some unexplained.

"I have a rash that's in the back of my leg now," Valente said.

"The fear is that most of us are going to get some kind of cancer in our esophagus," Feal said.

They also suffer from massive migraines, unexplained rashes and aches and pains that defy explanation.

Dr. Jacqueline Moline of Mount Sinai's Monitoring and Treatment Program said she's often powerless.

"We're hearing the same complaints over and over and over again," Moline said.

Mount Sinai monitors nearly 20,000 first responders on a continual basis.

"There is no doubt in the minds of any of us who've seen the thousands of responders that their health had been adversely affected by these exposures," Moline said.

For many, the picture is grim.

"We will unfortunately outnumber those people who died on 9/11," one of the responders said. "Vito Valente is going to die. Mike McCormack is going to die."

Valente needs a double-lung transplant. McCormack has a piece of metal embedded in his lung after volunteering for eight days at ground zero.

McCormack found the flag that flew atop the Twin Towers.

"It was 1,100 degrees, dark and dusty," McCormack said.

Feal's foot was crushed from falling metal.

"I ended up getting wedged in and buried beneath the ground," Feal said.

Vinny Forras was honored by President Bush. He escaped after being trapped.

Acts of heroism that came at a high price, physically and emotionally.

"It's like walking through a door which you can never return from," one of the responders said.

All of the men said they've had to show proof they worked at ground zero. All of them now also suffer from sleep problems.
 
9/11 heroes: Gary White

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1171794684189780.xml&coll=1

By HEIDI J. SHRAGER
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
2/18/2007

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Gary White's idea of good fortune is not even close to what it was before Sept. 11, 2001, when he rushed to Ground Zero, returning nearly every day for six months.

"Today is a good day, because I found out I don't have skin cancer," he told an Advance reporter one morning last month.

For a 52-year-old weight-lifter who once commanded the NYPD detective squad in Chinatown and has an obsession with Superman, the news was a ray of light in a life darkened by extreme physical and financial vulnerability.

These days, White is living with permanent brain damage and walks with a cane. Notes are scattered around his Bay Terrace studio apartment so he'll remember his daily rituals of medications, doctors' visits, and what little else he can accomplish outside of meeting his own health needs, like helping his 18-year-old daughter plan for college.

He can concentrate only in short spurts, and a conversation is riddled with frequent pauses as he struggles to regain his train of thought. Even talking to his 15-year-old son about how his day was makes his head pound. White calls it "Rainman head."

"This is not me," said White during an interview in his apartment, which he is leaving this month because he can't afford the rent. "This is not my world. Now I know what every Vietnam veteran feels like, because I'm a veteran, too. I'm a veteran of 9/11."

White's demise began with a rash. Next came the constant cough, and then, with a vengeance, the post-nasal drip. By 2004, the drip was preventing him from sleeping, and White became exhausted.

Rather than treat the breathing problem, his private doctors prescribed him sleep medication, which only made it worse. Exhaustion mixed with depression led to anxiety attacks.

In 2005 White hit his 23rd year with the NYPD and retired. He couldn't prove his health problems were related to 9/11, and therefore couldn't get a line-of-duty disability pension, which carries income and benefits far greater than the regular pension he now gets.

Last March, a visit to the Staten Island University Hospital sleep clinic revealed White stopped breathing between 35 and 40 times each hour. "Sometimes I wake up and I'm gasping for air," he said. "I freaked my son out once that way."

An ear, nose and throat doctor warned him that if he didn't surgically clear his airways, he would soon have a heart attack or stroke.

The stroke hit in September, while White was in the shower, leaving him permanently brain damaged. Maintaining the job he had as a security consultant -- which was financing his medical bills -- was out of the question.

Now he's in the process of trying to collect Social Security while fighting to have his disability pension changed to line-of-duty. He has letters from his neurologist, general physician and pulmonologist saying his health problems are related to the 9/11 work he did.

Meanwhile, White is scheduled for surgery in April to open his nasal passages. He hopes his health insurance will pay for most of it, but he said he doesn't know how he will cover the balance.

9/11 heroes: Edward Wallace

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1171794722189780.xml&coll=1

By HEIDI J. SHRAGER
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
2/18/2007

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- To step foot in Edward Wallace's basement is to understand something fundamental about the retired detective: He would do most anything for his city.

Wood paneling is wallpapered with plaques, merit citations, awards, promotion certificates and diplomas, all earned during his 20 years with the New York Police Department.

Hanging in the center of the accolades is a homemade, postcard-perfect photograph of the city's nighttime skyline, the World Trade Center peeking out from behind the Empire State Building radiating red, white and blue.

But since Sept. 11, 2001, Wallace's devotion has all but washed away under the corrosive one-two punch of physical pain and medical bills. Now the 43-year-old Eltingville resident, who rushed to aid in the recovery at Ground Zero just after his brother, who died of brain cancer, was buried on Sept. 15, says his mayor and the NYPD have walked away from him.

Wallace spent five months shuttling between Ground Zero, Fresh Kills and the morgue as a member of the Crime Scene Unit. Now, he can no longer open jars because his joints constantly ache. Patches of burning red bumps flare up across his body, tumors swell beneath his skin and acid swims in his mouth.

And of course, there's the cough. The ever-present dry hack was his first symptom, kicking in a year after the attacks. Major surgery soon followed, so doctors at Staten Island University Hospital could cut out three sections of his lung.

The biopsies revealed he had sarcoidosis, a disease in which clusters of cells swell and attack organs like the eyes, liver, kidney, skin and, most commonly, the lungs, according to the American Lung Association. One benign tumor on Wallace's hip had grown to the size of a tennis ball when the doctor excised it.

"You look at my medicine chest and see all these medicines there, and you would think I was a senior citizen," said Wallace in his basement one recent night, as his wife Margaret, also a retired first-grade detective, sat nearby with their two sons, Ian, 15, and Brandon, 10.

The medications and doctors visits cost Wallace hundreds of dollars a month in co-pays, which he manages to finance through working as a forensic consultant and teaching classes in counter-terrorism tactics.

Still, anxiety runs high that any day his insurance provider will cut him off, realizing it is wrongly paying to treat illnesses contracted on the job, and therefore the legal responsibility of the police pension system.

When Wallace retired on his 20th year on the job in 2004, the police department rejected his claim that sarcoidosis was a line-of-duty injury. But in addition to sarcoidosis, Wallace has been diagnosed with dermatitis and eosinophilic esophagitis, a disease marked by inflamed white blood cells that attack the esophagus and eat away its lining.

All three of Wallace's diseases appear on the Pataki presumptive bill list.

9/11 heroes: Robert Wallen

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1171794698189780.xml&coll=1

By SALLY GOLDENBERG
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
2/17/2007

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sept. 11, 2001, transformed Lt. Robert Wallen from a healthy New York firefighter to bone marrow recipient DRB11101.

Lt. Wallen, formerly a firefighter with Engine 151 in Tottenville, was working his side job at a South Shore polling station for the primary that day when he heard the frantic calls for help over a police radio.

Within two hours, he was at Ground Zero digging through rubble. He worked until midnight the first day, and returned every day for the next week.

During his labor, he wore only a paper mask to shield him from the heavy cloud of toxic dust and debris.

"One fireman, the end of that Tuesday, he says, 'We're all walking dead men.' I said, 'You really think so?' And we never spoke of it again. He understood what was in those buildings," Lt. Wallen recalled.

A few months later, Lt. Wallen went for a checkup with the FDNY's World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. One platelet count was slightly off. He was told not to worry.

A year later, he began to feel an overwhelming fatigue. By September of 2003, a bone marrow aspirate helped doctors diagnose him with myelodysplastic syndrome, sometimes classified as an early form of cancer characterized by an ineffective production of blood cells.

In a letter from the Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, a doctor linked his ailment to his work at Ground Zero, specifically his exposure to benzene.

Without a bone marrow transplant, Lt. Wallen was told he would die within three years.

"It was awful, absolutely awful. I remember the car ride home. He told me he was going to die in three years. I said to him, 'We have a 3-year-old,'" recalled his wife, Terry Wallen. The couple has three young children -- one of whom has Down syndrome.

In August of 2005, doctors found a match to save Lt. Wallen's life. The Wallens only know him as a 24-year-old man from Europe.

Today, the 42-year-old lieutenant is clear of the disease, but has retired from the FDNY because of his severe fatigue. He takes 26 pills a day.

He estimated he has spent $50,000 of his own money for treatments and drugs, though he was registered with the FDNY's World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program. He borrowed cash from his 92-year-old grandmother.

At one point, a bill collector showed up at his front door to demand money for a hospital stay that his insurance did not cover.

Lt. Wallen describes himself as a 42-year-old man living the life of a senior citizen.

"That's my main problem -- fatigue. I can't do what I used to do and really, it's tough. It's tough getting up in the morning and going through the day," he said.

He wistfully spoke about his grandfather, who chopped wood until he was in his 90s. "I looked at him and I said I wish I could be like him when I'm 90."
 
BILL TO LET POST-9/11 WORKERS SUE CITY

http://www.nypost.com/seven/0218200...rkers_sue_city_regionalnews_susan_edelman.htm

By SUSAN EDELMAN
PrintEmailDigg ItStory Bottom

February 18, 2007 -- Mayor Bloomberg wants to bar sick Ground Zero workers from suing the city - but Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney say they will push bills to allow people the choice to either sue or take money from a new victims' compensation fund.

Bloomberg has cooked up a plan to withhold any of the $1 billion in insurance it received from the feds unless the city and its contractors in the Ground Zero cleanup get blanket immunity from lawsuits, officials told The Post.

"We don't believe the city is liable for the acts of 19 terrorists," said Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler.

Without immunity, he said, the city could be socked with suits seeking far more than $1 billion for years to come.

But the city's demand has angered lawyers who want to start settling suits by more than 7,000 workers seeking compensation for respiratory illness, cancer and other diseases from toxic exposure.

"Bloomberg is holding these ill workers hostage - like human shields," said attorney Paul Napoli.

Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Maloney (D-Brooklyn) said they will sponsor legislation to reopen the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund - as Bloomberg urged last week.

But they said it should mirror the original fund, which gave victims the choice to either accept money or go to court. In that case, the plan protected airlines from huge losses.

"The first victims' fund was voluntary and it worked well," Maloney said.

[email protected]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top