The September 11th Victim Compensation Fraud
The piece dated November 26, 2013 in Newsday by Ridgley Ochs - http://www.newsday.com/news/health/frustration-over-pace-of-9-11-VCF-distribution-1.6502431 - is an unacceptable puff piece: a rationalization of Special Master Sheila L. Birnbaum's utter mismanagement of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). I expected much harder hitting reporting from Newsday. The piece reported that many of the claims remain incomplete because many claimants reported no income information, or the lawyers helping neglected to complete all required forms. That is why the 75 person VCF staff, comprised in large part of bright, young lawyers with white shoe Washington DC law firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP, cannot do economic loss determinations. That assertion belies reason - for the vast majority of these claims - if you look at the application process, however. One of the first documents requested is a claimant's Social Security Administration "earnings record," which si...