9/11 Press For Truth

“We felt the country was at risk from terrorists and from incompetence…and maybe worse.”
-- Lorie Van Auken, September 11th Widow

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Following the attacks of September 11th, a small group of grieving families waged a tenacious battle against those who sought to bury the truth about the event—including, to their amazement, President Bush. In ‘9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH’, six of them, including three of the famous “Jersey Girls”, tell for the first time the powerful story of how they took on the greatest powers in Washington—and won!—compelling an investigation, only to subsequently watch the 9/11 Commission fail in answering most of their questions.

Adapting Paul Thompson’s definitive Complete 9/11 Timeline (published by HarperCollins as ‘The Terror Timeline’), the filmmakers collaborate with documentary veterans Globalvision (‘WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception’, ‘Beyond JFK’) to stitch together rare overlooked news clips, buried stories, and government press conferences, revealing a pattern of official lies, deception and spin. As a result, a very different picture of 9/11 emerges, one that raises new and more pressing questions.

What actions were taken by top government officials who received dozens of specific warnings before the attack? Was Osama Bin Laden and his top al Qaeda leadership allowed to escape U.S. forces in Afghanistan? And what has been the reason for the deliberate obscuring of evidence for state sponsorship? Perhaps the most important one of all: Why, five years later, are so many of the families’ questions still unanswered?

It was only due to pressure from the 9/11 families, led by a particular twelve calling themselves the Family Steering Committee, that, fourteen months after the attacks, the first hearing finally began. These twelve remained active in monitoring the Commission’s investigation, providing a list of hundreds of specific, well-researched questions to the Commissioners. In the end, the Final Report failed to answer seventy percent of them.

Lorie Van Auken

One of the four famous “Jersey Girls”, Lorie is the widow of Kenneth Van Auken, 47, who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105th floor of WTC Tower One. She served as a member of the Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission, and with fellow widows Mindy Kleinberg, Patty Cazassa, Kristen Breitweiser, and Monica Gabrielle runs September 11th Advocates. She continues raising her children in east New Jersey.

Mindy Kleinberg

Another of the famous “Jersey Girls”, Mindy is the widow of Alan Kleinberg, 39, who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of WTC Tower One. She served as a member of the Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission, and with fellow widows Lorie Van Auken, Patty Cazassa, Kristen Breitweiser, and Monica Gabrielle runs September 11th Advocates. She continues raising her children in east New Jersey.

Patty Casazza

A third famous “Jersey Girl”, Patty is the widow of John F. Casazza, who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of WTC Tower One. She was one of the twelve members of the Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission, and with fellow widows Lorie Van Auken, Mindy Kleinberg, Kristen Breitweiser, and Monica Gabrielle serves on the board of September 11th Advocates. Originally from Colts Neck, New Jersey, she now lives in upstate New York.

Monica Gabrielle

Jokingly referred to by the others as “the fifth Jersey Girl”, Monica is the widow of Richard Gabrielle, who worked for Aon in WTC Tower Two. She was one of the twelve members of the Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission, and with fellow widows Lorie Van Auken, Mindy Kleinberg, Kristen Breitweiser, and Monica Gabrielle serves on the board of September 11th Advocates. She is also co-chair of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign with Sally Regenhard. She continues to reside in Manhattan.

Bob McIlvaine

Bob is the father of Bobby McIlvaine, 26, Assistant V.P. of media relations at Merrill Lynch, who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. A retired counselor to troubled teenagers and one-time tavern owner from Philadelphia, he was at the hospital in suburban Philadelphia where he worked with teenagers when he heard the news of the attack. Not a member of the Family Steering Committee, Bob became involved early on in the fight for an investigation, attending the families’ June 2002 rally at the Capitol and subsequently joining Committee members at every Commission hearing. He continues to live with his wife in Pennsylvania.

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‘9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH’ DVD is shipping!

Includes the 84 min. film, trailer, and special Congressional testimonies
by the “Jersey Girls” and Paul Thompson.