DOGGED 9/11-SCAM PURSUIT

By BRUCE GOLDING

Posted: 3:55 am
November 4, 2008

A self-proclaimed "9/11 hero" who concocted tales of rescuing victims with his golden retriever is being sued by the feds for more than $35,000 in relief funds he scammed from FEMA.

A lawsuit filed yesterday by the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan accuses Scott Shields and his sister, Patricia, of falsely claiming to need the money for rent on a Rector Street apartment while living in Greenwich, Conn.

The feds are asking for three times the stolen amount plus $11,000 for each of three bogus filings. Both siblings pleaded guilty to fraud, were sentenced to eight months behind bars, and are now waiting to report to prison.

Scott Shields, 57, won accolades after claiming he and his now-deceased dog, Bear, made "the only live finds" at Ground Zero. He repeated the lie in a self-published 2003 book titled "Bear, Heart of a Hero."

The Post exposed his lies in a 2006 exclusive that also revealed he filed for bankruptcy protection four months before 9/11.

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http://www.nypost.com/seven/11042008/news/regionalnews/dogged_9_11_scam_pursuit_136849.htm

Teens accused of defacing memorial to 9/11 victim

Nassau police arrested three teens yesterday morning after they allegedly defaced a memorial to a Port Authority Police Department captain who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The vandals are accused of toppling a granite monument to Massapequa native Kathy Mazza. The Farmingdale memorial and park were dedicated to her five years ago.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-limonu205891460oct20,0,1487834.story


link to photo of memorial:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tshrtkng/GirlScouts#5208233909742969746

NYPD honors 8 officers who died of 9/11 illnesses

Eight police officers who died from illnesses suffered after Sept. 11 were honored yesterday with medals from the New York Police Department, including a detective whose medical drug use raised questions about the cause of his death.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly presented distinguished service medals to the families of the officers, the first time the award has been bestowed. The officers' names have already been added to the department's wall of heroes at police headquarters and a police memorial in lower Manhattan.


The police department has a medical board that determines whether a death happened in the line of duty, said Paul Browne, NYPD spokesman. "Once they make that determination, which they did in this case, we found him and the others eligible and worthy of recognition," he said.
Others honored for their deaths of 9/11-related illnesses are: James Godbee, an officer who died in 2004 of lung disease; Robert Williamson, a detective who died of pancreatic cancer a year ago; Dets. Kevin G. Hawkins and John T. Young; and Officers Angelo Peluso, Ronald E. Weintraub and Thomas G. Brophy.

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http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/health/ny-nywtc225893353oct22,0,5281743.story