By Don Kaplan and David K. Li

NEW YORK — Filming has quietly begun under a shroud of secrecy on ABC’s ambitious miniseries about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The project — which has never been formally announced by ABC and will air no sooner than January 2006 — stars Harvey Keitel (search) as John O’Neill, the FBI agent who hunted Al Qaeda for years and was killed in the attacks while working as head of security for the World Trade Center.

“We are trying to maintain as much accuracy, integrity and be as sensitive as we can in documenting an important series of historical events,” producer Marc Platt told The Post.

The film focuses mostly on the events leading up to the attacks, which don’t appear on screen until the very end, says Platt.
(more…)

July 31, 2005

BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter

It’s easy for other cops to relate to Vito Friscia, a New York police detective suffering from severe sinus problems after spending months in the debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

The good-natured Friscia, an 18-year veteran, is an expert at blocking out the bad things that come with the job.

In the documentary, “Vito After,” which premiered Saturday at Indiefest in Chicago, Friscia laughs a lot. He explains it’s his way to “cover up.”
(more…)

Jailed in 2002 for blowing the whistle on payoffs by British MI6 to an Islamic terrorist group to kill Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi of Libya, David Shayler this week talks openly from his home on the southern coast of England about how he feels both the London bombings and 9/11 were most likely staged government events. He claims the free people of the world are at war with an enemy within and either democracy will prevail or a facist rule and martial law will take over.

July 29, 2005

By Greg Szymanski

A former British intelligence agent, jailed in 2002 for linking the British government with paying an Islamic militant group $160,000 in a failed assassination attempt on Colonel Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi of Libya, said this week the recent London bombings have all the earmarks of an inside job just like 9/11.

“It’s amazing how many aspects of the two events are so similar,” said David Shayler, the former MI5 agent and whistle blower, in a telephone conversation this week from his home in East Bonn on the southern coast of England.

Shayler, a thorn in the British government’s side ever since he blew the whistle in 1997 about rampant corruption within both arms of British intelligence, MI5 (domestic) and MI6 (foreign), said he has just began looking into the details of the 7/7 attacks, but what’s being released through the press and government reports shows a strikingly similar pattern to what he calls “the same type of misinformation thrown out after 9/11.”

(more…)

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — The abandoned strip mine where United Flight 93 crashed nearly four years ago on Sept. 11, 2001 will be returned to the control of its owners when the county coroner releases the area as a death scene on Monday.

Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller and volunteers made a final sweep of the property this week, turning up human remains too small and weather-worn for identification. Airplane debris was also found near downed evergreens.

“The volume (of materials found) has dropped off considerably, to the point that I now feel it’s appropriate to close my involvement in the case,” Miller said.

Hijackers crashed Flight 93 just outside Shanksville, about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, as passengers tried to take control of the cockpit, according to the 9/11 Commission report. Forty passengers and crew members died.

The National Park Service is to take over the area for a permanent memorial. Its design is to be selected by Sept. 11.
(source)

Besides the tip-off about 9/11, one of the researchers involved in a government-funded advanced brain development program says she uncovered a secret study called “Global Cleanse 2000″ outlining U.S. Government strategies for intitiating global war and population reduction.

July 27, 2005

By Greg Szymanski

Rene Welch cut “a deal with the devil,” a deal she recently broke when she went public about her two 1987 encounters with Saudi royals, including two of the bin Laden brothers who claimed the U.S. government was actively involved in pre-arranging 9/11.

Welch’s incredible story, first made public in May, has already been verified by one other former NASA scientist. But this week another person present at the meeting also came forward to verify Welch’s story.

The meetings with the Saudis took place in Sedona and Pleasant Valley, Arizona, and lasted more than eight hours each time, the bin Ladens revealing in 1987 detailed plans how the U.S. government was planning to attack the World Trade Center, kicking off a global catastrophe, including a massive war in the Middle East.

Besides being verified by Ronald Logsdon, 49, of Philadelphia, a scientist who worked in a NASA program with Welch and also present at the bin Laden meetings, this week long time Sedona resident, Naomi Niles, also verified the Sedona meeting took place.
(more…)

FTR #519: More history of the Islamic-Fascist Axis. From July 26, 2005
(mp3 stream)

A new addition to the Complete 911 Timeline. (aka Thompson Timeline or “Terror Timeline“)

(new exercise timeline)

There are many other 9/11 related drills which, I am sad to say, are not currently in the timeline.
Listed here: “Significant “terror drills” between 2000 and September 12th, 2001”

-Culhavoc

Daniel Hopsicker’s latest article, now in video format.

from MadcowProd.com…

“Were the 9.11 hijackers connected in America with individuals who have been part of any other events resulting in mass casualties?

What does San Diego,CA., where U.S. Rep Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham’s home was just searched by Federal Agents, have in common with whitebread Sarasota,FL., home to Republican Top Gun Katherine Harris?

Why are both cities “Must See” stops on any TerrorLand Tour?

How is it that a tiny Defense contractor–which went from zero dollars in Federal contracts to $169 million in the blink of an eye–was greasing Cunningham’s palm while at the same time becoming the largest campaign contributor of a woman running for Congress for the first time?

Watch a MadCowMorningNews Show special from San Diego, and find out.”

(stream/download wmv)

C-SPAN’s BookTV has informed 9/11 CitizensWatch that they will broadcast the Beyond Downing Street Town Hall meeting featuring Nafeez M. Ahmed, author of The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism, on Saturday, July 30 at 8PM EST, Sunday, July 31 at 1PM EST and 1:15AM Monday, August 1st (late Sunday night).

This presentation by eminent researcher Ahmed was recorded at the American University during the Washington, D.C. Emergency Truth Convergence [www.truthemergency.us] last Saturday, July 23 from 4-5:30PM.

For more information about The War on Truth visit:
http://www.interlinkbooks.com/BooksW/war_on_truth.html

UPDATE: Conspiracy Central has a hi-res video of this broadcast (bittorrent client and registration required)
(torrent file link)

NEW YORK — “Actors Hilary Swank and Kevin Costner will narrate the upcoming film On Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report…”

“…On Native Soil” will tell five stories of survival and examine the 9/11 Commission’s final recommendations.…”

“…The film features interviews with people such as the victims’ families, Sen. John McCain, a former FBI counterterrorism official and the former head of the CIA’s Osama bin-Laden desk…”

(source)

Costner also played Jim Garrison in Oliver Stone’s JFK. I’m curious to see if there will be any light shed on the truth or if, as the above quote states, this “documentary” will merely focus on the Commission’s recommendations.

-Culhavoc

Randeep Ramesh and Sanjay Jha in Mumbai
Saturday July 23, 2005
The Guardian

A district court in India has sentenced a man to seven years in jail for planning to crash airliners into the House of Commons and Tower Bridge in London on September 11 2001.

Judges in Mumbai handed down the sentence to Muhammad Afroze, who had also confessed in police interrogation to plotting with a group of al-Qaida operatives to attack Melbourne’s Rialto Towers and the Indian parliament in 2001. Afroze was arrested under controversial anti-terrorist laws in India after the 9/11 attacks. Human rights groups claim the laws are unfair and discriminatory.

Afroze was arrested at a Mumbai city hotel in October 2001 in possession of pilot training documents from Britain and Australia. He was charged under India’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota).

Police say Afroze confessed to fleeing from Britain to India four years ago and that he and other al-Qaida operatives plotted to hijack passenger jets from Heathrow and fly them into the London landmarks.

The suicide squads, which included men from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, booked themselves on two Manchester-bound flights but panicked and fled just before they were due to board.

Indian judge AP Bhangale said Afroze was guilty of criminal conspiracy, forgery and “committing depredation on territories at peace with India”.

The judge acquitted Afroze’s brother, Muhammad Farooq Abdul Razaq, because police failed to produce sufficient evidence for his prosecution. Afroze’s uncle, a UK citizen, was interrogated by Indian police in Britain. But Afroze’s defence team say that the case against Mubarak Musalman was dropped because of insufficient evidence.

Mobin Solkar, the lawyer for Afroze, said his client’s confession was a result of torture. “This conviction is not based upon legally admissible evidence. This conviction will be challenged in higher court in few weeks’ time and we have no doubt that higher court will set aside the case.”

(source)

Conspiracy theories implicating president aired at 8-hour hearing

By BOB KEMPER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/23/05

Washington — Revisiting the issue that helped spur her ouster from Congress three years ago, Rep. Cynthia Mc­Kinney led a Capitol Hill hearing Friday on whether the Bush administration was involved in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The eight-hour hearing, timed to mark the first anniversary of the release of the Sept. 11 commission’s report on the attacks, drew dozens of contrarians and conspiracy theorists who suggest President Bush purposely ignored warnings or may even have had a hand in the attack — claims participants said the commission ignored.

“The commission’s report was not a rush to judgment, it was a rush to exoneration,” said John Judge, a member of Mc­Kinney’s staff and a representative of a Web site dedicated to raising questions about the Sept. 11 commission’s report.

The White House and the commission have dismissed such questions as unfounded conspiracy theories.

McKinney first raised questions about Bush’s involvement shortly after the attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, generating a furious response from fellow Democrats in Washington and voters in Georgia, who ousted her in 2002.

“What we are doing is asking the unanswered questions of the 9/11 families,” McKinney, a DeKalb County Democrat who won back her seat in 2004, said during the proceedings.

She rebuffed a reporter’s repeated attempts to ask her why she would so boldly embrace the same claims that led to her downfall.

“Congresswoman McKinney is viewed as a contrarian,” panelist Melvin Goodman, a former CIA official, said. “And I hope someday her views will be considered conventional wisdom.”

Though she left the testimony and questioning of panelists to others, McKinney was the main attraction, presiding over more than two dozen participants, including the author of a book that claims the U.S. government had advance knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attack and allowed it to happen, and Peter Dale Scott, who wrote three books on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Georgia peanuts, Cokes and coffee were available to more than 50 attendees, whose casual dress was a decided change from the gangs of blue-suited lobbyists who usually crowd Capitol Hill hearings.

McKinney herself offered witnesses bottled water and found additional trash cans to place around the room.

Nearly a dozen 9/11 enthusiasts lined one side of the room, camcorders at the ready, broadcasting the hearing live over the Internet or recording it for later release. C-SPAN cameras documented the hearing, and a DVD recording of the proceedings will soon be available.

Ten people sat in a section reserved for family members of 9/11 victims.

“Nine-eleven could have been prevented,” said Marilyn Rosenthal, a University of Michigan professor who lost a son in the attacks, echoing the premise of the hearing.

Panelists maintained that Bush ignored numerous warnings from the CIA, the Federal Aviation Administration, foreign governments and others who told him before 9/11 that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack the United States and that terrorists were likely to use hijacked airliners as weapons.

But why would the president or his administration want the 9/11 attacks to occur? Power, the panelists agreed.

In the wake of the attacks, the administration was able to greatly expand the president’s power and the reach of the federal government, they said, but whistle-blowers and other potential witnesses who could have testified to the Sept. 11 commission about such things were either prevented from speaking or ignored in the commission’s final report. Panelists called the commission’s report “a cover-up.”

“The American people have been seriously misled,” said Scott.

(source)

Thompson is scheduled for the Randi Rhodes Show on Air America today, Friday 7/22.

(mp3 archive pending)

good catch by 911blogger.com

New Yorker Paul Isaac was a block away when the Twin Towers collapsed, watching helplessly as many of his friends perished. Today the former auxiliary fireman and communication specialist is ‘a man on a mission’ who says after years of researching 9/11, he is positive a massive cover-up exists to protect an inside government job.

July 21, 2005

By Greg Szymanski

Paul Isaac doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit. From day one, the former auxiliary New York fireman and now self-proclaimed “auxiliary pain in the rear end,” knew the Twin Towers was a controlled demolition.

And since day one, he has never quit trying to prove it.

Stack up all the major newspapers on a desk, city by city, across the entire country and there wouldn’t be enough information about “what really happened on 9/11” to fill up a thimble.

But take all the information stacked up in Isaac’s apartment and there would be enough to fill up a New York City library or enough to make the New York Times investigative reporters look Mutt and Jeff chasing after their tales.

When Isaac first watched the towers collapse from a block away, he said they “strangely came down like a house of cards, in their own footprints” and in what he called “a perfect demolition job.”

Although Isaac isn’t a scientist, engineer or explosives expert, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that someone invest the time and energy to investigate 9/11 in the wake of hasty conclusions arrived at by both government and the media.

It’s really all the American people have left. All that’s left are the efforts of people like Isaac who are not taking no for answer when it comes to further investigating the many unanswered questions about 9/11.
(more…)

Interview with Indira Singh. “Ground Zero 911, Blueprint for Terror, Part Two”

Indira Singh worked on Wall Street from 1975 until June 28th, 2002 when she was summarily terminated due to her investigation into the computer software company, Ptech. In Part One, she described her work as an emergency medical technician at ground zero, and began to describe her professional work for JP Morgan Chase and her first client meeting with software engineer, PTech.
(mp3 audio)

Thompson discusses the “Terror Timeline” as well as the 7/7 London attacks on Air America Radio’s Morning Sedition.
(download/stream mp3) edited, interview only

Another potentially related drill.

MPs fail to attend own terrorism drill
“A drill designed to prepare the Commons for a terrorist attack was attended by just five per cent of MPs…”
(source)

No Interest in Terror Drill
“…About 30 of the 646 members of the house participated in the morning exercise…”
(source)

Although this drill did not function as operational cover for another event, there still may be a relation to 7/7.

The obvious question is, did a low percentage of MPs attend the excercise due to the fact that the 7/7 attack was carried out in synchronization with the Visor drills? Where they afraid of a repeat? Or is this percentage attendance consistent with turn out at previous drills?

also see: 7/7 potentially related terror drills

-Culhavoc

July 19, 2005

THE SEPT. 11 commission report is now a year old. Many questions about the days leading up to Sept. 11, 2001 and who should be held accountable remain unanswered.

The report was a good beginning, but it requires a follow-up investigation, with subpoena power, to address the lack of accountability for security and intelligence failures that contributed to making us so vulnerable.

Flaws in the 9/11 Commission’s process included conflicts of interest, lack of transparency, questionable investigative rigor, and critical whistleblower information provided yet inexplicably left out of the report. It is time to pick up where the commission left off. Demand accountability and tell the rest of the 9/11 story.

BRIAN F. SULLIVAN
Plymouth

The writer is a retired Federal Aviation Administration special agent.

(source)

A True Hero, He Vows To Stick To The Truth, Something Lacking In The 9/11 Investigation

Former veteran fireman recalls hearing three distinct ‘huge explosions’ while rescuing people in north tower between 23rd and 24th floors, testimony ignored in the 9/11 Commission’s final report. Brave fireman recalls how he almost called it quits after losing his buddies, his job and his health. Now, four years later, he’s finally on the rebound, making an emotional and physical recovery, adding he keeps active with the fire department and enjoys his life as a new grandfather.
July 19, 2005

By Greg Szymanski

New York fireman Lou Cacchioli looked the devil square in the eye the morning of 9/11. He stared him down, threw him aside and walked into the depths of hell like a true hero, knowing he may never walk out again.

Like a hero, he risked his life to save others, never once thinking about himself at a time when one wrong a turn, a slight move in the wrong direction, meant sure death.

Although he survived, a little bit of Lou Cacchioli died that tragic morning in the north tower.

A little bit of the Italian boy, born in northern Italy who came to New York at the age of 10, was left behind in the rubble along with thousands of unlucky souls who didn’t make it out of hell that morning.

And if you look closely, a little bit of the Italian boy can still be seen hovering high above where the WTC once stood, flying high with the hearts and souls of his firefighter friends who perished that morning.

Look even closer through the clouds and you can probably still see a silhouette of Cacchioli and his best friend, Tommy Hedsall, both proudly wearing their FDNY uniforms and still rescuing people in the north tower’s 24th floor, the last place Cacchioli ever saw his friend alive.

Four years later, Cacchioli hasn’t talked much about the nightmare he lived on 9/11. First, he really didn’t want to talk about. Next, he got tired of having his words twisted by the 9/11 Commission and finally, the New York media basically never sought him ought to get the true account of what he saw and heard in the north tower right before the building collapsed.

Originally, on September 12, 2001, People Magazine ran a few short paragraphs about the 20-year veteran New York fireman hearing what sounded like bombs exploding in the north tower.

Short and sweet, that was it. A few short words about bombs exploding, but words that were repeated over and over again in story after story by writers and broadcasters who never even bothered to talk to him in the first place.

After that, a little angry and a little disgusted, he pretty much disappeared into the New York landscape, his story only appearing in an obscure book released called “American Spirit,” and his 2004 testimony given in private to the 9/11 Commission never released to the public in the commission’s final report.

So, it’s safe to say Cacchioli’s story, the story of an American hero, is probably unknown to most Americans even though 9/11 will be forever etched in everyone’s hearts and souls for all time.

In a humble effort to set the 9/11 Commission’s record straight and put the correct version of hero Lou Cacchioli’s story back in the history books, here is the unedited version, better late then never, as told by the man in an extended telephone conversation this week from his New York home:

THEN AND NOW

Losing his buddies, his job and his health, there was time after 9/11 he seriously considered suicide. But after counseling, a bit of soul searching and a loving family, the man who went through the depths of hell is now a happy grandfather.

Although he’s finally able to cope with the horror and grief of 9/11 after four long years, the tough-talking Italian with a heart of gold, admitted:

“I still have my moments, I still break down sometimes and I still go to counseling. But I feel a lot better, a whole lot better. I have a wonderful wife of 30 years, three great children and now a little granddaughter. What more could a man want?”

And the man who almost lost it all after saving so many lives is back living safely on the “happy side of heaven,” keeping close touch with the fire department he loves and vowing to never leave the streets of New York, the only life he really knows.

And like a true Italian, headstrong, independent and not afraid to speak his mind, he said:

“Nothing’s going to push Lou Cacchioli out of this town, nothing!”

THE MORNING OF 9/11

Cacchioli was one of those tough New York firefighters, the kind of guy you’d like to have a coffee or beer with or the kind of guy who could talk your arm off about Yankee baseball.

For most of his career, “Tough Lou” was a Company 47 engine man in the equally as tough Harlem District. He was the type of fireman who you picture sitting around the firehouse diner table, shooting the breeze and talking war stories about the last big blaze up on 42nd Street.

He was the type of fearless New York fireman who, up until 9/11, thought he saw it all, including the WTC bombing in 1993.

But that was before 9/11. That was before Cacchioli was thrown into depths of hell when the Company 47 bell sounded, telling the fire crew to head to the south tower of the WTC.

And like the sound of the bell marking the 15th round at Madison Square Garden, it was the last bell Cacchioli ever heard, as he never worked another day for the FDNY after 9/11.

Although it was like someone ripped his heart out on January 4, 2002, when doctors told him due a pulmonary condition from the 9/11 contaminants he’d never work as a fireman again, Cacchioli somehow still finds the strength to recall what he calls the most horrifying day a man could ever imagine.

But back on 9/11, Cacchioli was in true form, headstrong and ready to take on the blaze like he’d done so many times before. Although he readily admits “none of the finest fireman in the world were prepared for 9/11,” he said never once did he think the buildings would topple, but at the same time, never did he think the fire could ever be contained.

CACCHIOLI AND ENGINE CO. 47 ARRIVE ON THE SCENE

When Co. 47 arrived with Cacchioli leading the way as the senior member of the crew, the second plane had already hit the south tower and they were told to head directly to the Marriot Hotel across from the WTC, since a fire was blazing form debris falling from the towers. Cacchioli recalls hearing radio reports of “people jumping” and when he got closer to the Marriot, the reports turned into reality.

“I looked up and there were about 6 to 10 people flying through the air coming down right on us,” said Cacchioli. “It was horrible when they hit the ground, something you had to turn your eyes away from. One of the jumpers landed directly on fireman Danny Sur, killing him on the spot. I remember saying, ‘Oh my God, what are we getting into.’”

Cacchioli then recalls entering the Marriot, trying to lead “the kids” as he called them, adding that words could not describe the screaming and chaos within.

“There was debris flying everywhere and it was just mass chaos,” said Cacchioli. “At that point, orders were changing fast and furious and our company was directed to lend assistance in the north tower,” he added.

CACCHIOLI AND CREW ENTER NORTH TOWER AND GO UP TO 24TH FLOOR

Although the Marriot was a bad scene, the north tower looked like a war zone. When he entered the lobby, Cacchioli recalls elevator doors completely blown out and another scene of mass chaos with people running, screaming and being hit with debris.

“I remember thinking to myself, My God, how could this be happening so quickly if a plane hit way above. It didn’t make sense,” said Cacchioli.

At that point, Cacchioli found one of the only functioning elevators, one only going as high as the 24th floor, the first twist of fate that probably saved his life.

“Looking back if it was one of the elevators that went higher, I wouldn’t be here talking today,” added Cacchioli.

As he made his way up along with men from Engine Co. 21, 22 and Ladder Co. 13, the doors opened on the 24th floor, a scene again that hardly made sense to the seasoned fireman, claiming the heavy dust and haze of smoke he encountered was unusual considering the location of the strike.

“Tommy Hedsal was with me and everybody else also gets out of the elevator when it stops on the 24th floor,” said Cacchioli, “There was a huge amount of smoke. Tommy and I had to go back down the elevator for tools and no sooner did the elevators close behind us, we heard this huge explosion that sounded like a bomb. It was such a loud noise, it knocked off the lights and stalled the elevator.

“Luckily, we weren’t caught between floors and were able to pry open the doors. People were going crazy, yelling and screaming. And all the time, I am crawling low and making my way in the dark with a flashlight to the staircase and thinking Tommy is right behind me.

“I somehow got into the stairwell and there were more people there, who I began to try and direct down, when another huge explosion like the first one hits. This one hits about two minutes later, although it’s hard to tell, but I’m thinking, ‘Oh. My God, these bastards put bombs in here like they did in 1993!’

“But still it never crossed my mind the building was going to collapse. I really only had two things on my mind and that was getting people out and saving lives. That’s what I was trained for and that’s what I was going to do.

“I remember at that point in the stairwell between the 23rd and 24th floor, I threw myself down on the steps because of the smoke. It was pitch black, I had my mask on and I was crawling down the steps until I found the door on the 23rd floor.”

When Cacchioli entered the 23rd floor, he found a “little man” short of breadth, holding a handkerchief in front of his face and hiding under the standpipes on the wall, used for pumping water on the floor in case of fire.

Leading the man by the arm, he then ran into a group down the hall of about 35 to 40 people, finding his way down the 23rd floor stairwell and beginning their trek down to safety.

“Then as soon as we get in the stairwell, I hear another huge explosion like the other two. Then I heard bang, bang, bang - huge bangs – and surmised later it was the floors pan caking on top of one another.

“I knew we had to get out of their fast and on the 12th floor a man even jumped on my back because he thought he couldn’t make it any farther. Everybody was shocked and dazed and it was a miracle all of us got this far.”

When the group led by Cacchioli finally made it to the lobby level, he was unable to open the door at first, the concussion of the explosions or perhaps the south tower falling, jamming the lobby door.

Finally jarring it loose, the group entered the lobby finding total devastation with windows blown out and marble peeling form the walls, but strangely no people. At that point, it was either left or right to an exit, Cacchioli, the man he originally found by the standpipes and another lady going right while the others went left, a move which by the grace of God saved his life.

“It seemed like every move I made that morning was the right move,” said Cacchioli. “I should have been killed at least five times. The people that went left didn’t make it out, but we came out alive on West Street.”

OUTSIDE AND APPARENTLY OUT OF HARMS WAY

After making sure the two civilians were attended to, Cacchioli went to the corner were his fire truck was stationed finding Lance, the driver, who was attending to the truck and waiting for the crew to return.

Looking up at the north tower directly above, Cacchioli recalls not having the slightest idea when he exited that the south tower had already collapsed. He also remembers wondering about the fate of his crew members, the driver telling him two were missing and two others injured and already taken to the hospital.

“Next thing, we look up and see the tower collapsing. We saw it starting to come down fast, Lance running towards the water to safety and I headed instinctively down West Side Highway.”

Cacchioli said he remembers looking back at the antenna falling, at the same time trying to stay ahead of the huge ball of black smoke gaining ground. He then threw of his mask to make himself lighter, a move that allowed him to run faster and perhaps save his life, while eventually having to throw himself on the ground from the heavy sawdust like air mixed with glass was choking him to death and taking away his vision.

Landing in debris, he luckily fell by the wheels of another fire truck, another twist of fate that may have saved his life, where he then managed to find a compressed air breathing mask. He then passed out and recalls waking up some time later after another fireman pulled him to safety.”

“I don’t realy know how much time passed, but once I felt better, I immediately went back to look for my friends and stayed till I couldn’t walk anymore,” said Cacchioli, who began crying when he talked about his close friend. “They finally found Tommy’s body in the debris about 10 days later. I went back to Ground Zero every day for a long time, going AWOL, until I finally went to a doctor and was put on medical leave.

“They were very good about it. Everybody understood. It got to the point I couldn’t take breadth anymore and I lost a lot of vision due to the broken glass getting into my eyes. “Finally, the doctors told me in January 2002, I couldn’t work any more and I remember feeling devastated like my whole world was coming to an end.

“I couldn’t tell this story for the longest time and I have to admit it is still difficult.”

THE 2004 9/11 COMMISSION HEARINGS: WHAT A WAY TO TREAT A HERO!

Cacchioli was called to testify privately, but walked out on several members of the committee before they were finished, feeling like he was being interrogated and cross examined rather than simply allowed to tell the truth about what occurred in the north tower on 9/11.

“My story was never mentioned in the final report and I felt like I was being put on trial in a court room,” said Cacchioli. “I finally walked out. They were trying to twist my words and make the story fit only what they wanted to hear. All I wanted to do was tell the truth and when they wouldn’t let me do that, I walked out.

“It was a disgrace to everyone, the victims and the family members who lost loved ones. I don’t agree with the 9/11 Commission. The whole experience was terrible.”

HIS LIFE NOW

Cacchioli spends a majority of his spare time hanging around the firehouse, trying to stay in touch with the department he loves and trying to lend a hand to some of the younger kids in the department.

“I talk to the kids and I want to make sure they are keeping up to snuff so they’re ready if something happens,” said Cacchioli, who also plays softball in the FDNY league, something he regularly did when he was on active duty. “I don’t want to lose this connection because the fire department is a part of who I am and who I always will be.”

Asked if he ever was pressured to keep quiet about his 9/11 experience, he added:

“Nobody has bothered me. I don’t think I should be bothered. I know what happened that day and I know the whole truth hasn’t come out yet. I have my own conscience, my own mind and no one, I mean no one, is going to force Lou Cacchioli to say something that didn’t happen and wasn’t the truth.”

For more informative articles, go to www.arcticbeacon.com where donations are accepted to keep the news flowing.

Greg Szymanski

(source)

Appearing on “The Power Hour”, 8-10am CST.
(mp3 audio)