WTC Captive
Insurance CompanyUpdated Aug 7 - Senators
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and
Arlen Specter, R-Pa., have begun
to question the management of the company entrusted with disbursing the billion
dollars in funds set aside for Ground Zero injury victims in the September 11
tragedy.
In a letter
to Ms. Christine LaSala, President and Chief Executive Officer of
WTCCaptive Insurance Company,
Senators
Leahy and Specter both expressed their dismay that monies designated toward personal
injury victims of Ground Zero workers in the 9/11 cleanup had been so sparingly
allocated, whereas the lion’s share had gone to private law firms. Lawmakers
specifically
asserted that over $45 million had gone to private firms working
for the Captive to fight payment of Ground Zero personal injury claims, but not
a single payment had been doled out. Ground Zero workers have suffered from a variety of post 9/11 respiratory illnesses and
rare cancers, including many unexplained cases of
multiple myeloma.
Mayor Bloomberg
has apparently also shown disregard for the injury victims of Ground Zero by
his alleged misuse of the Captive’s funds.
He has been named along with the Captive in a multi-million dollar suit
filed by Worby Groner & Napoli Bern, large personal injury firms in New
York. In the suit
plaintiffs allege that the mayor is abusing his discretion over the fund by prolonging
litigation and thus refusing to consider the merits of plaintiffs’ claims for
personal injury compensation. -written by Courtney Mills
See Also
- Attack on America