By Chuck Bennett
The New York Post
NEWARK, N.J. — Two New Jersey ex-cons who traveled the country in a red pickup emblazoned with the names of fallen 9/11 first responders pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in donations they said would go to a Ground Zero charity, authorities said yesterday.
Mark Anthony Niemczyk, 66, and Thomas Scalgione, 40, were so brazen that they posed for photos with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, other politicians and real first responders while fleecing good-hearted donors, New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa charged in a lawsuit.
“It is beyond comprehension that anyone would try to profit themselves under the guise of collecting donations to help the surviving family members,” Chiesa said, adding that criminal charges were pending.
In late 2010, Niemczyk and Scalgione started showing up with the truck at various memorial programs for 9/11 or first responders, according to retired FDNY Lt. Joe Torrillo, who survived the collapse of the Twin Towers and now gives talks nationwide.
“This joker, Mark Anthony, showed up at my event. He comes in a red pickup truck with flashing lights and all the firefighter names on it. Claims he is a Navy SEAL,” Torillo told The Post. “He was too cocky. I knew it wasn’t right.”
The Ford F-150’s license place, which is registered to Niemczyk, even read: “N-Seal.”
He wrote inflammatory slogans on the truck, such as “Everything I learned about Islam I learned on 9/11,” and even befriended wacky, Koran-burning Pastor Terry Jones.
Niemczyk, who has a 1989 welfare-fraud conviction, later admitted to investigators he was never a SEAL.
But for more than a year, the two collected donations in a water jug and sold FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority Police T-shirts.
They claimed the proceeds went to the “Cain Foundation,” in honor of firefighter George Cain, who died on 9/11 - but no such charity exists.
“We didn’t run no fake charity,” said Niemczyk. “One guy said we did, and now they are investigating it. It’s just getting so blown out of proportion.”
Scalgione, who has fraud, theft and forgery convictions, insisted, “It is not a scam. It is actually real.”
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