Chapter Three

0:00Speaker 1:This series is based on the real events of 9-11. However, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes. This series contains strong language and profanity, and scenes that some listeners could find disturbing.

0:14Speaker 2:Okay, okay, okay.

0:23Speaker 3:By two in the afternoon, we were deep in search and rescue means. but still short of personnel and equipment to find survivors. The air was unbreathable and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Makeshift morgues were being set up throughout lower Manhattan. I didn't think things could get worse.

0:45Speaker 4:They could.

0:49Speaker 3:Building 7 on West Broadway and Vesey Street wasn't hit by the planes. but by flaming debris from the collapsed towers.

0:58Speaker 5:Division 7, Manhattan.

1:00Speaker 3:Be advised, reporting fire in the lower levels of 7 World Trade.

1:04Speaker 5:Looks like it's been burning for hours. Division copies.

1:08Speaker 1:We're operating lobby command, sending units to check floors 2 through 8.

1:14Speaker 6:As intended, to Division 7.

1:16Speaker 5:Go ahead, 10.

1:18Speaker 6:Heavy smoke and stir will be at floor 6. Be advised, we may have multiple civilians trapped.

1:24Speaker 5:Repeat you traffic?

1:26Speaker 6:Smoke pushing up stairwell B.

1:29Speaker 5:Battalion 1, go.

1:31Speaker 6:Reports from exterior building 7 indicate fire in the Con Ed vault area. Might be feeding into the lower floors.

1:39Speaker 5:Ladder 15, smoke increasing rapidly.

1:41Speaker 6:We're blind past 10 feet. Engine 10, we're pulling ceiling tiles to check for fire above. Activate fire suppression.

1:51Speaker 5:Fire suppression is negative. We don't have water pressure.

1:54Speaker 6:Repeat 15.

1:56Speaker 5:We don't have water pressure.

1:58Speaker 7:Mayday, mayday. Stay where you'll be.

2:01Speaker 5:One. Fire on the 8th floor. Engine 10, respond. Engine 10, respond. Instructors showing signs of failure. Radio malfunction. Mayday. Engine 10, respond.

2:25Speaker 3:Repeat, radio.

2:34Speaker 5:Malfunction. Mayday. Engine 10, respond. Engine 10, respond.

2:45Speaker 3:I'm Frank Sturiano, formerly of the New York City Police Department. Think you know the whole story of 9-11?

2:52Speaker 8:You don't.

2:54Speaker 3:This is Underground Zero. This is my story of how we took on the mob.

3:03Speaker 9:Our helicopters are circling above the pile, almost two million tons of debris that used to be the World Trade Center. Our very own Tracy Marquez has been on the scene since just after the North Tower was hit.

3:19Speaker 10:Almost seven hours ago.

3:20Speaker 9:Tracy, how are you holding up down there?

3:22Speaker 11:Michael, if this morning's attack represented the worst of human nature, what we're seeing now represents the best. Volunteers, hundreds of them, have formed bucket brigades, passing pails full of debris from hand to hand, loading them into trucks for removal to collect.

3:40Speaker 3:I told Joe I didn't want his ass anywhere near the Trade Center. But he was holding all the cards. And we both knew it.

3:48Speaker 4:I almost felt sorry for Frank, a straight-up guy. What could he do? It was business, and we were going to get our taste no matter what. When the boss tells you to plant the family's flag, a Genovese does what a Genovese has to do.

4:06Speaker 3:As my brother-in-law, he swore he'd keep his distance. That's how I knew he'd send over a surrogate. Construction union rep Eddie Bernstein.

4:16Speaker 7:This isn't business, Frank. We're dealing with a national tragedy. And we're all Americans.

4:22Speaker 8:Your patriotism's impressive.

4:24Speaker 3:Who kept his squeaky clean image, despite his mob connections.

4:28Speaker 2:Not to mention, there could be God knows how many people still trapped in the rubble, hanging on by a thread.

4:33Speaker 8:But you mentioned it anyway.

4:34Speaker 2:And we put our money where our mouth is, those trucks outside, the digging equipment, crane operators, riggers, they're all ours.

4:41Speaker 7:You can't wait for the feds. You don't have time.

4:43Speaker 10:Enough, Eddie.

4:44Speaker 7:Our company's built a trade center in the first place.

4:47Speaker 8:I'm the guy who vetted them.

4:48Speaker 3:And I'm not going to override the process to give you guys preference.

4:53Speaker 7:I know you, Frankie.

4:54Speaker 4:Christ.

4:55Speaker 7:I know your dad.

4:57Speaker 2:And I know you couldn't sleep nights if you had to tell widows and orphans that you could have saved.

5:01Speaker 7:Their husbands, their moms, their dads. But you didn't. So you can maintain your precious vetting standards. Open it.

5:11Speaker 8:Mickey. We just found two survivors in the pile.

5:15Speaker 7:They're digging them out now.

5:16Speaker 4:The press is gathering.

5:17Speaker 7:They want to talk to you, Frankie. Hey, Eddie. Mick, that is great news. Don't you want more of that, Frank?

5:25Speaker 8:Eddie, get out of my office.

5:26Speaker 7:Help us help you. Mickey, talk some sense into him, will you?

5:31Speaker 10:Get the fuck out, Ed.

5:34Speaker 7:Good seeing you, Eddie. Say hello to the family.

5:36Speaker 5:Yeah.

5:41Speaker 3:Son of a bitch wants me to override our vetting process, Mick. It's a minor detail compared to how short we are in men and equipment.

5:50Speaker 7:Kind of is, isn't it? I mean, if you want to get the job done right.

5:53Speaker 3:You want to see us working hand in hand with the Genoveses, Lucchesis, and the Colombos, and guys.

5:58Speaker 8:Like my brother-in-law?

5:59Speaker 7:If they can help us save lives.

6:02Speaker 8:What the hell kind of optics are those, Mickey?

6:04Speaker 7:Fuck optics, Frank.

6:05Speaker 8:You saying I should give him a free hand?

6:07Speaker 7:I'm saying we don't live in a black and white world anymore. It's been gray since the towers came down.

6:12Speaker 11:Lieutenant Siriano, can you tell us.

6:15Speaker 10:About the condition of the survivors?

6:17Speaker 3:Look, we don't know their exact condition.

6:20Speaker 8:Obviously, we hope to find other survivors.

6:22Speaker 11:Well, is it true that they wouldn't have been saved if it hadn't been for the equipment brought in by privately owned companies like.

6:28Speaker 3:We're getting help from wherever and whoever can provide it.

6:32Speaker 11:Are you concerned that the companies may have links to organized crime?

6:36Speaker 8:There's no indication that they have any such links.

6:39Speaker 10:Can you guarantee that?

6:40Speaker 8:And the saving of lives remains our priority.

6:43Speaker 11:Does that mean you'll address the issues of organized crime involvement only when you've exhausted the possibility of finding.

6:47Speaker 7:Break.

6:49Speaker 3:One of the rescue workers handed me a stuffed toy he found in the rubble. It was partially burned, but it had a tag around its neck with its owner's name on it.

6:59Speaker 10:Can you tell us what the tag reads?

7:02Speaker 3:A little girl.

7:03Speaker 8:Look, I don't feel comfortable giving that sort of information... But when you see something like this, you think about your own children.

7:13Speaker 3:And it's only for the grace of God that.

7:19Speaker 8:No further comments, thank you.

7:20Speaker 10:Is the mafia involved here? Is the child.

7:23Speaker 8:Still with us?

7:23Speaker 3:The day before, September 10th, seemed so long ago it was like it belonged to another century. My son, Frank Jr., had a little league game. As usual, I was late getting there. Frank was playing third. Joe Bianchi's son, my nephew Nicky, was at the plate. Joe was watching from foul territory near first base, like always. He'd been there since before the first pitch, like always. Joe was never late for anything, and there was never a hair out of place. I pretended not to hear him. I walked toward the seats behind home plate.

8:07Speaker 4:Sometimes, I couldn't believe the guy. I mean, we grew up together. School at St. Ignatius. I was his best man, and he was mine. We were brother-in-laws, for Christ's sake, and he was making like he didn't know me. Frankie, hey!

8:22Speaker 3:Ignoring him drew the kind of attention I was trying to avoid, so I walked over.

8:27Speaker 4:Hi, Joe.

8:29Speaker 10:Finally.

8:30Speaker 4:Hi, Joe. Maybe you thought I was, uh, tubercular or something.

8:34Speaker 8:Optics, Joe. You know how it is.

8:37Speaker 4:The kids are playing ball. That's how it is.

8:40Speaker 8:How's my sister?

8:42Speaker 4:My wife is fine. Thanks for asking.

8:48Speaker 3:Nikki hit it hard on the ground, but Frankie stretched out to his left, caught it, and threw him out.

8:55Speaker 4:That's all right, Nikki.

8:56Speaker 10:You hit it solid, buddy.

9:00Speaker 4:Hey, Frankie moves good, like you used to.

9:05Speaker 3:You still have that Derek Jeter glove Yeah, Nicky's using it these days.

9:10Speaker 8:Your old man spent more on that glove than mine made in a week.

9:14Speaker 4:Hey, well, that's the beauty of a cash business.

9:17Speaker 5:Yeah.

9:20Speaker 4:So we invited Frankie to Nicky's birthday Saturday. I'm taking a bunch of the kids to see the Mets.

9:25Speaker 8:He can't make it.

9:26Speaker 4:I'm getting him autographed pictures with the players.

9:28Speaker 8:I'm sure they'll have fun.

9:31Speaker 4:Why should your kid be left out?

9:33Speaker 8:He'll get over it.

9:34Speaker 4:It's just a fucking ball game, for Christ's sakes. What do I tell Nicky when he asks why his best friend, his own fucking cousin, won't be there? How do I answer that?

9:43Speaker 8:Like you always do, Joe. Take the fifth.

9:52Speaker 6:Command, I can send command. You copy? Conditions worsening on the Vesey Street side of Building 7. Heavy fire showing multiple floors.

10:05Speaker 8:Engine 10, read you.

10:07Speaker 11:Command, ladder 4.

10:09Speaker 5:There's visible deformation on the southwest corner.

10:12Speaker 8:Advised.

10:12Speaker 3:Reports of structural damage and uncontrolled fires on numerous floors.

10:17Speaker 5:Windows popping out.

10:19Speaker 3:No water pressure up there.

10:20Speaker 6:Copy that, Ladder 4.

10:22Speaker 5:All units, maintain distance.

10:25Speaker 2:Base of Building 7.

10:26Speaker 5:Command, rest in one.

10:30Speaker 2:We're hearing.

10:33Speaker 5:There's noises... like shifting steel.

10:36Speaker 6:dropping... up a facade.

10:50Speaker 8:Eddie.

10:51Speaker 2:Where are you, Joe?

10:52Speaker 4:I'm booted on Richmond Avenue.

10:53Speaker 7:Where you at?

10:54Speaker 2:I'm a few blocks from the pile.

10:55Speaker 4:How'd it go with Frank, Eddie?

10:59Speaker 2:Not great. He threw me out of his office. You talk to Dip?

11:03Speaker 4:Yeah, but what did Frank say?

11:05Speaker 7:He won't give us nothing on the hiring list. Son of a bitch is playing hardball.

11:10Speaker 8:We got all the leverage, but he's on fudge. What?

11:13Speaker 6:I'm on the phone.

11:16Speaker 7:We're breaking up.

11:17Speaker 3:I don't... Schools were closed because of the attack. Frank Jr. went to his cousin Nikki's house to hang out.

11:28Speaker 2:I told him to be home by 4. He wasn't.

11:32Speaker 1:Hey, honey.

11:33Speaker 8:Hey, Marie.

11:34Speaker 10:How you doing?

11:36Speaker 7:You know, watching TV. It's crazy.

11:41Speaker 3:Hey, tell Frankie to come home, will ya?

11:43Speaker 4:He's an altar boy for 5 o'clock mass.

11:46Speaker 7:Uh, he's not here, Connie.

11:47Speaker 9:He left 15 minutes ago.

11:49Speaker 5:What?

11:50Speaker 3:He should have been here by now.

11:53Speaker 5:Nikki!

11:53Speaker 10:Frankie went home, didn't he? Yeah, he had to do math.

12:00Speaker 11:Connie, he left.

12:01Speaker 9:Maybe he, uh, I don't know, could have stopped at Steve Fideli's or Tom Profita's.

12:08Speaker 6:Want me to have Nikki go look for him?

12:10Speaker 7:Yeah, if he's not here in a couple minutes, yeah.

12:14Speaker 9:You know, I'm sure he's fine, honey. He's, uh, he's 12.

12:17Speaker 10:Marie, he knew he had math.

12:20Speaker 7:He's never late. Just like his father. You talk to Frank?

12:25Speaker 5:No.

12:26Speaker 11:Honey, call him if you're worried.

12:28Speaker 4:He's got enough on his plate.

12:35Speaker 8:Engine 26, confirm conditions worsening in Building 7.

12:38Speaker 5:Engine 26 moving south. Everyone on DC. Back it up now.

12:45Speaker 8:This is Command. Understood. Stand by for instructions.

12:49Speaker 5:Repeat, large cracks, visible mid-structure.

12:54Speaker 8:Command, ladder four again.

12:56Speaker 4:Corner column looks like it's bowing inward.

12:58Speaker 9:I don't like what I'm seeing.

13:00Speaker 10:Everybody out.

13:01Speaker 8:Let's get everybody out of there.

13:03Speaker 6:All units operating near the perimeter of building seven, prepare to withdraw to a safe perimeter. This is precautionary.

13:09Speaker 8:This is HQ. It is not precautionary. Withdraw now.

13:13Speaker 3:Say again?

13:16Speaker 6:Withdraw completely?

13:17Speaker 8:Affirmative.

13:18Speaker 3:We're establishing a collapse zone around Building 7.

13:22Speaker 8:Repeat, collapse zone around the entire building.

13:26Speaker 4:Command, rescue on copy's collapse zone.

13:28Speaker 9:We're pulling back now.

13:31Speaker 5:Agent 26, moving south. Everyone on Bessie, back it up now.

13:36Speaker 4:Command, ladder 4. There's significant movement up top. Smoke pushing hard from multiple floors.

13:43Speaker 6:More columns inside the building. Beginning to sag.

13:46Speaker 8:Jesus Christ.

13:47Speaker 11:Clear the area around Building 7 immediately.

13:49Speaker 4:Come here, metaphor. The entire top section is shifted.

13:52Speaker 8:Mr.

13:54Speaker 7:Regis came down on the street.

13:55Speaker 5:Everyone move!

13:57Speaker 11:Michael, there are klaxons outside Building 7. Firefighters and emergency rescue personnel.

14:04Speaker 10:Are running out of the building.

14:07Speaker 11:On the Bessie Street side, there seems to be... It.

14:12Speaker 10:Looks like the wall is... Bowing outward. And now....

14:22Speaker 11:Bill, building 70 is falling inward on itself.

14:25Speaker 10:Is Frankie here?

14:27Speaker 5:No.

14:27Speaker 10:Nikki didn't find him. All right, well, none of the kids have seen him.

14:30Speaker 8:Oh, God, Marie.

14:34Speaker 7:Where could he be? All right, honey, just take a deep breath.

14:41Speaker 8:Hello?

14:42Speaker 5:Connie.

14:44Speaker 8:Building 7 just came down.

14:46Speaker 7:I know. We're watching.

14:48Speaker 8:Who's we?

14:49Speaker 4:Me and your sister.

14:51Speaker 8:What's she doing there?

14:52Speaker 7:She came over is all.

14:53Speaker 8:You okay?

14:56Speaker 5:Frank.

14:58Speaker 3:Over in the pile, they found this stuffed toy.

15:02Speaker 8:Little toy with a tag on it. We traced it. The girl who owned it was on one of the planes.

15:11Speaker 4:We haven't found her.

15:14Speaker 5:Oh, honey.

15:16Speaker 8:Let me talk to Frankie.

15:20Speaker 7:Connie.

15:20Speaker 5:He's not here.

15:23Speaker 8:Oh, yeah, he had a mask, didn't he?

15:25Speaker 5:He's not a mask.

15:28Speaker 8:Where is he? Connie, where's Frankie? I don't know. What do you mean you don't know?

15:34Speaker 10:I don't know, Frank.

15:38Speaker 8:Well, well, call me when he gets there.

15:43Speaker 6:That's all you have to say.

15:45Speaker 8:What do you want me to do?

15:46Speaker 3:Help me find him.

15:47Speaker 8:You mean leave work?

15:48Speaker 5:Yeah, leave work.

15:49Speaker 8:I can't. We need every officer available.

15:52Speaker 5:The hell with your other officers.

15:53Speaker 7:I'm talking about you and your son.

15:57Speaker 8:I can't leave.

15:58Speaker 3:I got God knows how many people who may be dying, and they're people's sons, too.

16:02Speaker 7:I know.

16:02Speaker 10:They're important.

16:05Speaker 6:They're more important than us.

16:09Speaker 7:Connie's talking to Frank now.

16:10Speaker 4:And what's he say?

16:12Speaker 8:I don't know.

16:13Speaker 7:I'm outside.

16:14Speaker 4:How am I supposed to know where Frankie is?

16:18Speaker 7:You know everything that goes on around here. Well, all of a sudden your nephew goes missing and you got no idea?

16:24Speaker 8:I'm going to talk to Joe.

16:29Speaker 7:What does Joe have to do with it?

16:33Speaker 4:Why are you asking me?

16:36Speaker 10:I've been watching TV, Joe, ever since the towers came down.

16:40Speaker 11:I mean, they've been talking about the family's involvement in rescue operations. I mean, come on, Frank's running rescue operations.

16:46Speaker 10:I'm not an idiot.

16:49Speaker 4:Frank's calling. I'll call you back.

16:50Speaker 7:You better call me back.

16:52Speaker 4:I said I'll call you.

16:53Speaker 8:I'll call you.

16:59Speaker 3:I knew a bar in Park Slope where Joe and I wouldn't be recognized. By the time I got there, it was almost dark. Joe was already there.

17:09Speaker 4:How many of your people did you lose?

17:12Speaker 3:37 police officers, around 200 firefighters, six paramedics. That's the count so far.

17:21Speaker 4:Jesus Christ. How do you think it'll come out? Think they'll find the ragheads who ordered the whole thing?

17:28Speaker 8:I don't know.

17:30Speaker 3:We're looking for the black boxes from the planes. I decided I wasn't going to say anything about Frankie until Joe did.

17:39Speaker 4:Well, how's things otherwise?

17:42Speaker 8:What do you mean?

17:43Speaker 4:Everything else. Connie, the job.

17:46Speaker 8:Connie and the job? Holding it together? Marie?

17:52Speaker 4:It's not easy, your sister. I told you.

17:56Speaker 8:I told you at your bachelor party.

17:59Speaker 4:Yeah, guess I didn't hear you. I was wearing that hooker's legs for earmuffs.

18:04Speaker 7:Yeah.

18:10Speaker 8:Marie still love you, you think?

18:12Speaker 4:Let's put it this way. I try to keep her disappointments to a minimum.

18:17Speaker 8:So she'd miss you if you were gone?

18:19Speaker 4:About as much as Connie would miss you. But I'm not going anywhere, Frank.

18:24Speaker 8:You mean if you can help her?

18:25Speaker 4:Oh, I can help her. In spite of your best efforts. How far are you prepared to go?

18:35Speaker 8:Depends how far you are.

18:37Speaker 4:Would you be willing to see your family go to pieces?

18:41Speaker 8:Some ways it already has.

18:45Speaker 4:We started in the same place, for everything that's changed. We're not that different after all.

18:50Speaker 8:Sure we are.

18:53Speaker 3:And if we're trapped doing what we're doing, it's because we chose to be.

18:57Speaker 10:Meaning?

18:59Speaker 3:Meaning if it comes down to seeing our lives collapse like the towers, then we will. Because it's who we are.

19:08Speaker 7:Is that a warning?

19:17Speaker 8:Connie, is Frankie back?

19:20Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, he's back.

19:21Speaker 8:He's fine.

19:21Speaker 2:He's okay.

19:23Speaker 7:Good.

19:24Speaker 3:He said he went to Gino's for a slice.

19:26Speaker 4:Said he went with a girl.

19:28Speaker 11:But he wouldn't tell.

19:29Speaker 3:Me her name.

19:30Speaker 8:You believe him?

19:32Speaker 11:I don't know.

19:33Speaker 4:But I'm not going to make a thing of it.

19:35Speaker 8:How come?

19:37Speaker 5:Because you didn't.

19:44Speaker 3:Joe and I stared at each other. Could have been 10 seconds or maybe an hour. His eyes gave me nothing. The world we were brought up in, you don't mess with a man's family. But we weren't part of the same world anymore. And we never would be again.

20:13Speaker 1:Underground Zero, 9-11 and the Mob is a production of Thoroughbred Studios, Goldhawk Productions, and iHeart Podcast.