As we sit here nearing the 7th year anniversary of the September 11th World Trade Center attacks; the first responders to the tragedy whose health and, in some case, lives have been affected have still not seen any money from the WTC Captive Fund. I have documented a lot of the misdeeds that have plagued the WTC Captive Fund which was given $1 Billion by Congress to address the health issues of the rescue workers that risked their futures by selflessly helping rebuild the World Trade Center area before anything was known about how toxic the air would be. At this point, of that $1 Billion exactly $45,000 has been paid out to only one victim. During that same time, $75 Million has been squandered; $47 Million of that on outside law firms to help the WTC Captive Fund fight the claims of New Yorkers who helped but haven’t been supported by the local and state governments that promised to take care of them.



As the media is becoming more aware of these mounting health costs there have been inquiries into some of these outside attorneys, their motives, and how they are wasting taxpayer dollars trying to deny the claims of those who the money was intended for. One of the most notorious attorneys fighting for the WTC Captive Fund is James Tyrell of the law firm Patton Boggs. He is known for fighting for the defense of the manufacturers of Agent Orange, the toxic herbicide used by the United States in the Vietnam War. Given that, it’s no surprise that he (at up to the possible $850/hr that Patton Boggs bills at) is willing to fight against the cause of the heroic WTC rescue workers who are only looking for relief to possibly get their lives back to some degree of normalcy. The argument by the WTC Captive Fund and Mayor Bloomberg is that the City must be protected from lawsuits. But judging by the number of inquiries by Congress and the pressure being exerted on the WTC Captive Fund, it’s obvious that the $1 Billion was not intended to be used against the people that it was allocated for. Along with the questionable motives of the WTC Captive Fund and some of its outside counsel are the conflicts of interest that are prevalent throughout the organization.

Thomas Jones is the Secretary of the WTC Captive Fund; while serving as a partner that is serving as the Fund’s legal counsel. That means that Jones can use his knowledge inside the fund to help his firm defend the WTC Captive Fund. Not only is the money not being given to the citizens it is supposed to; now the deck is even further stacked against anyone who is inquiring or trying to take legal action against the WTC Captive Fund. It is appalling that these rescue workers sit unpaid with worsening health as almost $100 Million is spent trying to fight against them.