

Consequently, she developed various ailments such as asthma which required treatment. She claimed to have been on site for at least 2 hours a day but was not issued with protective clothing or a face mask. Spinosa was a member of the New York Police Department (NYPD) on Staten Island and claimed to have worked at the Fresh Kills site for 260 hours between 12 September 2001 to 1 September 2002. The VCF ran between 2001 to 2004 and from 2011. The WTCHP would process the claimant’s application and VCF would the calculate the award. To prevent any gaming of the system, the claimant had to been on site for several hours. Two supporting documents were required to demonstrate attendance a WTC related site. (The Dutch first established Manhattan as a trading post in 1624.) The disability could be substantiated by either a Medical Doctor or through the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP). While the site name ‘Fresh Kills’ may have seemed inappropriate, ‘Kills’ is derived from the Dutch for riverbed. Those with good memories will recall much of the Twin Tower debris was sorted at Fresh Kills, a landfill site on Staten Island. To receive compensation, the victim had to prove a disability and their presence at Ground Zero or one the associated sites. The VCF was active in the early part of the decade and again from 2011 when it became apparent that many First Responders were exposed to toxic materials at Ground Zero and needed financial support to cover everyday expenses and medical bills. The aim was to provide the victims and First Responders with compensation and monies for medical treatment.

This is quite fitting for the following fraud story.Īfter the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York in 2001, the US Congress created the ‘Victims Compensation Fund’. One of them, in a sign of exasperation is “you gotta be kidding me”. In one of early chapters, Ellis lists a number of expressions native New Yorkers will use. As guidebooks go, it is succinct and to the point. The title for this fraud story is inspired by David Ellis who was the author of the 1997 edition of the ‘Lonely Planet’ Guide to New York, USA.
