Original subtitles

Transcript by sub.Trader & Clarity

As I was doing what I was trained to do

…you realize how weak and fragile you are.

This was his first day going to that office.

-We had his picture brought to us-- -And he was so happy.

Pulmonary fibrosis.

When I saw the building come down I just prayed, you know.

I don't know if we were just in denial…

but we really thought it's…

…And I have to come to terms with it.

The rest of them?

I lost a son.

All gone.

You want other information?

I'll say this:

I'm angry.

I'm angry with God.

I'm angry with our country also because they let this happen.

My beautiful boy

was burnt alive because of them.

You know, we don't even have a body.

If someone took your child

and blew them up…

They didn't even have a fingernail.

How do you go on from there?

How do you calculate that?

What is

life

worth?

Not a trick question, people.

Who's gonna give us a number?

Back row…

You there, Mr… Barron.

Big boy voice and a counselor, tell us, where are you from?

I was raised in Wichita.

Kansas, farm boy. Good.

You were raised on one, a farm?

My girlfriend's father owned one. He grew sorghum.

Sorghum?

Girlfriend's father grew sorghum.

Miss Politano.

Miss Politano, you are now Mr. Barron's girlfriend's father.

Don't laugh people. It's very sad.

Mr. Barron just died tragically. Crushed by a combine harvester

in Miss Politano's sorghum field.

Mr. Dickerson, you are now representing Mr. Barron.

And where is Miss Chan?

Miss Chan, you're representing Amalgamated Caterpillar.

Manufacturer of said combine harvester

which took poor young Mr. Barron's life,

in the Kansas State civil action of

"Mr. Barron v. Mr. Barron's girlfriend's father's sorghum farm

and the Caterpillar company."

So, Miss. Chan, how much do you offer Mr. Dickerson to settle this?

All right.

Let me rephrase.

How much is Mr. Barron's life worth?

Give us a number.

Two million?

Hey, I'm in law school.

I could be earning that before I'm 30.

If you ace the final, maybe. And if aren't dead,

which you are.

This is now Mr. Dickerson's decision along with

-Mr… your name? -Patel.

Patel. Mr. Patel is a poor bereaved mother of Mr. Barron.

Three million?

Two point seven.

Deal.

There you have it. There's the deal.

To be clear, you haven't stumbled into a philosophy course

where as the law is concerned this question actually has an answer.

And the answer is a number.

And that's the job.

No. Yes, 55 per victim.

And both sides agreed to walk. That's right.

No one thinks it's fair, but fair is not the goal here.

It's "finish and move on."

Yeah, well, thank you, sir…

Mr. Feinberg, you have a message from judge Colton.

Thank you.

Just remember me when POTUS calls about the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

I saw Rehnquist the other day, he's looking pale.

I said he's looking pale.

Hello?

I think I lost him.

-Probably a good thing. -It was a joke.

When you shoot the funny ones you don't have to announce that afterwards.

I just saved the taxpayers years in the courtroom.

Do you think he really hung up on me?

I'm sure he's off commissioning a monument.

I have a fond to run.

Mr. Darryl Barnes Esq. I have an important question for you.

Whose this birthday cake?

Margo, in Accounting.

-Is that the important question? -No.

Did she save any for you?

Gloria, where are we on that email?

"And so I would ask…"

And so I would insist. Not ask.

Insist that you be on time.

I have a very busy schedule that day.

So punctuality will be imperative.

Please, promptly advise.

Love, Dad?

Yeah. Love, Dad.

OK, I'll type this up right now.

Thank you.

Remind me again why are we building this instead of buying that cute

little place on Cape Charles?

-Fog. -You could still commute.

The numbers show Cape Charles

is more than twice as likely to be fogged in on any given day.

-That's not a real statistic. -Two point two is the statistic.

If you are really tight into that.

I have heard that people that base their future happiness on weather data

are 100 percent less likely to be fun.

Why is he sitting there and just looks at me?

Do you mind?

You're not retiring anyway.

Good night, honey.

NEW YORK CITY

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Because they want to put in another shoe store.

Cause we need another one of those.

And they wanna take out those beautiful arched windows.

You know, the one that have the Corinthian-carved cartouche things?

They wanna take them out and put in the modern one

so they can hawk more sneakers. It's just…

Not on your watch.

No. Now you're mocking me.

There's chicken piccata in the fridge.

I'm going to post this. Just wait.

Power to the people.

Yep.

…Cause you can actually take it…

Hi there.

All right, come in, please. Breakfast is ready.

-Quickly. -Yeah, breakfast!

-Thank you. -Slow down.

This way.

Gotta go. Love you.

All right.

Mom!

Right now I don't see it.

Sure.

The shock from the attacks in New York and DC

reverberate across the entire nation.

Our lead corresponded Tony Riddle has been informed that state officials

-are working to strengthen security-- -Officials at Somerset County Airport

confirmed the crash of a large plane north of that airport.

The army has been placed at REDCON Delta.

Firefighters and police officers

are frantically trying to help those people who have been hurt

-who perhaps have not been rescued. -For a tragedy so great,

tonight a city comes together

searching for safety and comfort.

Some of the hundreds

are waiting for their turn to go in to the World Trade Center area.

The day is to come to rescue those who may be alive.

So we have at this point

well over a thousand people confirmed dead

The three hundred that are missing.

That he talked about eight hundred at the Pentagon

Two hundred and sixty six were on those airplanes, they were passengers and crews.

For now are up to about 1,300.

And it is expected to go much higher

Twenty four hundred people altogether were killed in Pearl Harbor.

They were military personnel for the most part.

It was a military attack on military installations.

But we know who did it.

This is a different kind of a war. In a new century.

Conflicts like this can bond so many people

I think all of that is going to have to be…

In the midst of our outrage and anger…

President Bush's right,

we have to show the word that we can respond to this

both with determination…

-So what did you tell Kennedy? -That I'll think about it.

That you're my partner and I'd have to talk to you.

I mean I know why he asked us.

We're one of what, five or six firms with this kind of expertize?

If that. If that.

-Asbestos. Agent Orange. -Yeah.

Those were hot-buttoned cases, too.

Yeah.

I'll let you know how the Committee hearing goes.

Yeah.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2001

Thanks for coming, Ken. I know Teddy appreciates it.

U.S. CAPITOL

-Sure. -We want our best trial lawyers.

We're needing your support on this thing.

Yeah.

Are your people OK? Kids, family?

Yeah, Mike was in his dorm in NYU, he's all right.

Little shaken up but… What thing?

New Bill on the floor.

The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act.

Wait, they're bailing out the airlines?

More like the whole economy.

If the victims of these attacks or their families

attempt to sue the airline industry for damages we will go bankrupt.

And never mind whether they will or not, the legal cost alone.

And that's when we might as well just hand those terrorists the victory.

Because we're paralyzed.

Deliveries, communal travel, the whole economy grinding to a halt.

What we're facing is a national emergency.

Lee? Ken?

Help us come up with another way.

Brass tacks here.

You're trying to prevent law suits from the victims.

That's what they're saying.

That's not what we're saying.

It's called due process.

Limit. We're saying limit civil suits against the airline.

Denying recourse

to the people most impacted by these attacks.

Stop grandstanding.

What we're proposing is a treasury fund

offering tort-style compensation to the victims.

For their economic losses. Something for pain and suffering.

Yes. But coming from us, Congress. Not the courts.

And in exchange the claimants promise not to sue.

-Corporate bailout. -For Christ's Sake, Lee.

What, you're calling it charity?

Yes. Government-sponsored charity.

With strings attached.

Ken, help me out here.

Law suit could take decades.

Yes.

After it crashes the economy.

And the victims might still lose.

This is for their own good.

And the nation's.

How many victims are there?

Well… We don't really know yet.

A special master we select will have to negotiate all settlements.

A flat fee would be another option.

The same dollar value for every loss of life.

But those towers had CEOs and janitors.

They won't all say "yes" to the same number.

And even if they did?

Anybody wanna go on record with what that number is?

Yeah… Well… pretty soon

Somebody gonna have to do the vulgar work of putting numbers on a check.

So, you're saying what? You wanna do this job?

Well, no. I mean…

Well, I mean… We're discussing it right now.

So…

Look, you're telling me you're not sick about it, watching all of this on TV?

Of course I'm sick about it.

-Well… -But…

It's just tough stuff, Kenny.

I know. It is. Very tough. Yeah.

And you're not exactly--

You're not a rabbi or a priest.

-You're a lawyer. -I know.

And that's exactly what these people need right now.

There's a process here.

You know, I hire a team.

I draft an objective formula.

And I dispense reasonable payments.

-Just like that? -Yeah.

It's no different than my previous cases in that regard.

Look, this is something I'm good at.

This is something…

This is something I can do to help.

Judge Weinstien told me how you

reached a settlement on DES.

Ten years of court house war.

You brought both sides to a motel room,

told them they can stay as long as they all wanted

but they couldn't leave until they reached a settlement.

-Is that really true? -It is.

I did let them order room service.

You know, Attorney General…

People are rational animals.

I find if you force them to the table

most behave in a way that makes the most sense.

It's hard to believe you lived in Washington.

Well, in politics a conflict sells.

I find that what works best is compromise.

No one walks away too happy,

just happy enough to walk away.

And when you walk away today, what outcome makes you happy enough?

I'd like to have the job, John.

No one wants this job.

Well…

That narrows down your options.

I suppose it does.

Except that you're a democrat.

Teddy's former chief of staff. Did you hope I overlook that?

Well, I was hoping you'd see that as a good thing.

I mean, you said it yourself, this is a hot potato.

If you give it to the insider,

you know, a party man, or a friend of the President, then…

They blame us if it fails.

Right.

Pick me. It's the opposition's fault.

Unless for some reason, by some miracle I pull this off.

-In which case-- -Don't we look open-minded

reaching all the way cross town to find you.

OFFICES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

It is felt. And I'm speaking for the White House here.

For the program to succeed in staving off

full-on economic cataclysm,

no fewer than 80 percent of eligible claimants must opt in.

That means voluntarily. Choose not to sue.

That shouldn't be a problem.

Well, congratulations, special master.

You got any more surprises for me?

Yeah.

I'd like to work for free.

Everyone, come in here for a…

Camille and I want to thank you

for shoveling the firm's day-to-day responsibilities

while we devote our time to this pro Bono.

It's not gonna be easy.

And we sure welcome all of your help.

But if we do our job

the way I know we can, well….

We just might make a difference.

So, thank you and… Thank you.

This is your psyching yourself up

for considering a quick escape.

When was the last time I took one that I couldn't handle?

Brockton Track meet, 1971.

I came in second.

And you still remember who beat you?

Felianado.

And I was robbed, by the way.

You don't know how to lose, Kenny.

Yeah, well, this one's…

You know.

Not that kind of case.

It is not winning.

That's what I'm afraid of.

Ken.

The call for you.

It's the President.

-Will you take it here? -Yeah.

Line one.

Yeah, this is Ken Feinberg.

Please hold for the President.

-Hello, Mr. President. -Ken?

-Is this Ken Feinberg? -Yeah.

Ken, I wanna congratulate you on this thing. Yeah.

-Ashcroft was impressed. -Well…

But listen, you're taking the heat on this. OK?

Now I would not wish this job on my worst enemy.

They tell me you're the type of guy that takes no prisoners.

I'm kidding, Counselor. I'm kidding. I like to josh.

-Did I scare you off? -No, Sir.

No, Sir, I'm still here.

-I'm still here. -Oh, up there, OK. Good.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much.

You won't regret this.

Better hope not.

OK.

NOVEMBER 26, 2001

-Good morning. -Good morning.

I assume you've all met, but this is Priya Khundi.

Priya graduated first in my class, last year, Georgetown.

And after she passed the bar I offered her a place here.

But she very politely turned me down

for a big fancy company down on Wall Street.

Their main office was on the 98th floor of the North Tower.

So we're very lucky to have her.

Do you all have copies of the statute?

The HR 2926.

"The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act."

OK, who's read it?

-Great. -Did it take you long?

-Not really. -You wanna know why?

Because it's short.

Yeah, that, and there's no law in this law.

What it says is that the victims and their families

will be compensated based on economic value loss.

What that means, they left up to the special master.

Us. It's up to us to write the rules.

Ken and I've done it before on other cases and it is always messy.

So get ready for it.

Like who's eligible, who gets how much, where do we draw the line.

Where do we start?

Eighty percent, Priya.

That's our target from the DOJ.

If we don't hit that number the plan won't work.

And if fewer claimants come aboard

the lawsuits that result could crater the economy.

-So we are told. -No pressure, people.

Now, for every claimant we'll need to calculate a dollar value for the human loss,

whether it's a loss of limb or loss of life.

Most of the people who died that day were providers for their families.

We can't bring them back,

but we can help their loved ones pay their bills.

Now, you people understand

we're not gonna be able to haggle every case subjectively.

That's where the math comes in.

So… we gonna need a rubric.

These are the latest actuarial tables from the top casualty

in life insurance companies.

And we use this numbers as a basis.

Yeah, you guys study up on these

and help Camille come up with a proposal.

OK, so West Street.

South Ferry.

Lower Broadway.

And Canal Street.

OK, here's one.

What if there multiple dependence?

How to decide who gets the money?

Well, if there's a will we follow it.

And where there isn't one?

We follow state law.

The state they died in or the state they came from?

The state of residence.

What about domestic partners?

What do we do about them?

All right, let's talk about the deadline.

The statute gives us two years and a month from today.

That's December 22nd, 2003.

That feels short.

Not for families in grief.

We could file for an extension.

Nah, don't you dare. No.

If we extend it. Go hem and haw. They won't act.

That line is our friend here.

OK.

What are we forgetting?

Their names.

So far we have a dozen lists, but nothing comprehensive.

Flight manifests and the Pentagon. Those are the easy ones.

NYPD and FDNY, they have a list.

And big companies like Cantor Fitzgerald, they're putting some list together.

But as for the records of who passed through the doors that day.

They are all gone.

We don't even know how many names we're looking for.

CHARLIE'S CHICKEN PICCATA

TO THE MEMORY OF FIREFIGHTER NICHOLAS L. DONATO

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

TO OUR HEROES

MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN

Relax, we've done this kind of thing before.

No, this one is raw, those aren't lawyers out there.

Good. I can't stand lawyers.

What are you, running for office?

Come on, be a person not a politician.

OK. Good luck.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for coming.

As you may know, I am Kenneth Feinberg.

I am the special master

of the September 11th victim compensation fund.

I would like today to tell you…

Would like to tell you how the 9/11 fund will work.

You've all been given copies of this, the presumptive claims formula.

And quite soon

we'll be sending this along to a Congress for a comment period.

Upon approval there will be no further changes.

-Mr. Feinberg. -I've got a question for you.

-I'm sorry. -I've got a question for you.

If you could can hold your questions till after my remarks.

Now I'd ask you to refer to the table, the top, page two.

So as you can see the formula is actually fairly streamlined.

Why do we need one?

Please… Just hold your questions.

Why do we need a formula?

Why isn't there an equal payment for everybody?

My daughter's life is worth just as much as anybody's in the corner office.

Unfortunately that aspect of a law has been out of our control.

My boy was a firefighter.

Was he worth less

than the guy pushing pencils in trade stock?

No.

Certainly not as a human being, no.

Their lives ended the same way.

But their mortgages did differ.

How dare you!

He's just here to shut us so we don't sue.

-Hi. -Hi.

-Have they-- Has it started already? -They're just starting. You're fine.

Would you like a claims form?

No, I have my own. I printed it off the web.

And there's a typo on page three that you should know about.

And also there are… I should sign in here, right?

Yes, please do.

And there are more issues that need to be addressed.

There are substantive. OK? And they need to be addressed.

OK.

I may propose… Look… As a legal professional

I know chasing a lawsuit is a big mistake.

Did you lose anybody?

-Hold on. -Did you lose anybody in your family?

No. I just… Let me explain.

Congress mandated that I calculate the economic value.

Very good, economical.

Please.

You're just afraid of being sued.

I understand how you feel--

-Understand? -Please.

-What I mean is that I sympathize. -Who did you lose?

No, listen, as a legal professional I reiterate it will be years in court.

You might win, you might not.

This is fast money and it's tax free.

Put your thinking caps on.

-This is the only game in town. -How dare you!

You think this is a game?

No. I'm sorry.

Who do you think you are?

We lost brothers. Now they sent some Jew lawyer--

Hey! Hey!

I wish we could spit on your grave the way you spit on ours.

-Please. Please -Wait everybody. Wait.

This man, he did not cause our situation.

He's here to tell us how the government intends to deal with it.

And I for one would just like to hear him out.

Thank you.

Thank you. And I was… Look…

This meeting is only… It's purely introductory.

That's it. Any questions you have that aren't answered in the pamphlet,

I will make my staff available for private hearings.

Every business day between now and the filing deadline.

What do you think?

Maybe poor choice of words here and there.

Here and there.

-Camille? -Yeah?

We need to get back to the office.

Mr. Feinberg?

Mr. Feinberg, give me a minute, please.

I'm Frank and I'm sorry to bother you…

No, not at all. Hi. Ken Feinberg.

What happened there? Did you break that?

My son, Andy broke his last year. Rugby injury.

South Tower.

Jesus. Thank you for your courage.

My brother too, Nick, Nicholas. Same line of company.

Is he here?

Well…

Gosh… I'm sorry.

Yeah. I've lost track of him after the first one fell and…

The captain says he went back in to help.

Well, that takes a hero.

Yeah, except there wasn't any use.

I mean the engineers. They knew the second one was coming down.

They told PD to call the evacs

but our radios.

-They're garbage. -Yeah.

They hardly even work in high-rise buildings.

If you believe that, in New York City.

Look, we've been filing the same damn reports for years.

And you can guess where it tells to shove them.

That's why things went so sideways as they did.

The negligence. Compound chief**

fucking…

-Sorry. -It's all right.

When you file your report, whatever it is that you do at the end of this.

I want Nicky story in it.

To make sure that they changed things so it doesn't ever happen this way again.

-Can you do that? -Well…

Can you promise me?

-We can certainly look into that. -Not just talk.

I want it to change.

That's why I'm here.

Why I'm still here.

-I understand. -I believe that.

Can you hold?

Camille, can you come over here?

-Frank, this is Camille Biros. -Hi.

She's my deputy administrator.

And if you talk to her she can explain the whole process.

I don't need anything else. I just…

I need you to give me a word on this things, Mr. Feinberg.

Ken.

Then me and my wife,

Nicky's widow, our whole family, we'll sign up for your fund, no problem.

Yeah, well, we're certainly going to take a look at it.

Website on the bottom. First meeting tomorrow. Here you go folks.

First meeting tomorrow if you'd like to attend. First meeting.

We need to talk about this.

Yeah. Not now though.

Website on the bottom, OK?

-Hello. -Hi, how are you?

Hey, I wanna thank you for your help back there.

I gotta tell you I was…

Here you go. There's a website at the bottom there.

Little worried when you stood up. But I'm glad you did.

I believe in civility, Mr. Feinberg.

-Yeah. -Charles Wolf.

And you'll be seeing a lot of me.

Good to know, and it's Ken.

I think you gonna find that I'm one of your harshest critics.

Sorry to hear that.

My wife died that day.

And everything about this formula offends me.

Here you go. Take one of those please. And I'll give you one too.

I've set up a page on the World Wide Web. The website, right there at the bottom.

It's called fixthefund.

Here you go, fixthefund. Here you go. There's two there.

And if you'd like to visit it and would like to come to our meeting,

we have a first meeting tomorrow.

Here you go. Take that please.

And I'd love it if you would attend. Also I have this for you.

This is something… There are a number of some corrections and things.

And I think its very important that you address those.

Here you are. Take this, folks.

Take a look at the website on the bottom.

Thank you. There's a couple of them there for you.

-Nice. -OK. All right.

fixthefund

-We're not gonna rewrite the formula. -They don't trust us, Ken.

They don't understand this is for their own good.

The airlines would bury them in litigation until they have nothing left.

You think I don't know that?

This is different. Didn't you feel it in there?

I mean our other cases like this, Agent Orange, asbestos.

Those were settled after years in court. People had moved on.

These people aren't there yet.

Camille, they're emotional right now.

We need to be objective for them.

Hey! Something for you, Feinberg.

Fuck you!

What?

O'Donnel T., CFO. Income: 750,000. 14,2 million.

Dishwasher. Income: 23,015. 350 thousand.

JANUARY 2002 23 MONTHS TO DEADLINE

WALL STREET

Families got in last night.

O'Leary can't wait to help us out with the immigration status and the INS.

So we'll use their conference room.

You're coming?

Sorry, it's just small spaces these days and heights.

I'll be fine.

I know you've been informed

but I wanna reassure you that your citizenship

or your immigration status

will have absolutely no affect on our process here today.

Everything you tell us will be kept strictly confidential.

We're all looking at your tables and not liking what we're seeing.

You're only factoring in the yearly compensation.

What about commissions, bonuses?

We represent some high worth individuals.

And that kind of income comes and goes. There's no guarantees with that.

-That's why we stick to the salary. -That's unacceptable. Come on, Ken.

You'll also have to strike this rule deducting life insurance.

This is not a negotiation here.

Why should our client's families be penalized for planning well?

Come on.

No one's being penalized.

Thank you, Lee.

We're just being paid off to keep our clients outta court.

Well, that's an oversimplification.

That's the purpose of the fund, Ken.

I was in the room too, remember?

I do wanna point out that the law requires

we base awards on income

but we've decided on a floor payout

for all lost lives

of two hundred thousand dollars.

I remind you that is just a minimum.

Is that split between more people

or just the families here?

No, it's not a split at all. It's per decedent.

This is a report by an economist, a distinguished one

predicting future compensation growth rates for our clients.

We suggest you use those numbers as a base line.

We're here as friends, Ken.

Your formula maybe enough

for waitresses at windows on the world

but our clients expect a little more.

And if they can't get it from the fund

they'll seek that remuneration elsewhere.

That bad?

A pack of wolves out for blood.

Yours?

Grateful.

MAY 2002 17 MONTHS TO DEADLINE

Are they all here to meet with the staff?

Yeah, Priya and the others are helping out. I'm meeting with as many as I can myself.

Good. Very good.

Most would rather meet with you, you know.

They lost loved ones that are gone forever

and nothing you do will fill that hole.

And you'll feel cold and cruel at times

because you can't make them happy

but…

That's the job.

Just try and remember why you're doing it.

I hope this is all right.

The stenographer will be here just to keep a record of our conversation.

Sure.

Why don't you…

Why don't you tell me about your loved one.

Anne Marie.

Page 14.

Part 2K talks about supporting documents I should enclose.

The financial stuff.

So I dug up all these files here.

What I could find.

Honestly I don't know where to start.

Let's see if we can make sense of it.

It asks here if she was suffering from any medical disabilities.

What does that mean?

If she was you gonna cut the amount of money you're paying?

Not necessarily.

Bullshit you guys are pulling. This is like going to an insurance company.

You gotta watch your back with every goddamn thing you say with them.

And it's the same thing here.

My kids need money for the both of us.

The won't have anybody left.

There's no way to cut me a cheque before the official deadline?

That morning she was scheduled for a different plane.

but another girl called in sick and so…

It was my sister.

And she's the one who called the tower on the radio.

In a traffic control they pleaded for me.

She must've been so scared.

She sounded so calm.

So elevators came and everybody piled on.

But there wasn't enough room and so Greg said,

"That's OK everyone.

You go ahead."

And there were two other women who weren't ready

and so he said, "I'll wait with them."

And so everyone else got out.

And the another elevator never came.

And I know that part of the story

because he called me when they were trapped there

to say that he loved me and the children.

He said…

Told me that he was trapped.

And he was having difficulty breathing.

And I could hear the women screaming in the background

that they didn't wanna die.

And just then he heard an announcement, they were…

I heard it too. They were announcing on the loud speakers.

Please evacuate the building.

God, he has…

He always had a sense of humor, and…

While he was talking to me I actually started to laugh.

He was joking to me and saying that,

"I think I know I have to get out of the building."

And he was laughing so hard until he said, "I have to go now.

Because I can't talk anymore, because I'm having trouble with air."

I know I'm not officially his next of kin.

We never made it to Vermont.

And Tom's parents don't…

Well, they are pretty traditional military family.

They pretend I don't exist.

But I'm the one he called

before the end.

Not them.

Machine picked up.

I wasn't home.

I'm so sorry.

I know the rules.

State law says we were nothing to each other.

But I'd like you to hear his voice.

Hi, hon.

By now I guess you've heard about the mess in New York.

Well, a plane just hit here too, and all of us inside of the building…

OK, that's… Would you turn that off please?

I don't know if they showed it on the news.

That's enough.

I love you.

That's enough. Honestly.

He was a civilian contractor at the Pentagon.

They were gonna have a civil union but Tom's parents…

They weren't even taking Graham's calls.

And what did you tell him?

I told him that Virginia state law has no protection for same-sex couples

and our rules are tied to the state law.

Well, that's it then. I mean… Our hands are tied.

-We can't insert ourselves-- -Why can't we make exceptions?

There are others.

Last week a widow came in with cancer.

She needs more than we can give her by the rules.

And she needs it expedited.

We can't cherry pick one case over another.

We can't write new rules for every claimant.

I know this is personal to you.

You weren't in those rooms.

OK? You didn't listen to them.

We're not therapists.

Am I right? It's not our job.

It's not like I don't care. Of course I care.

How could you not care. That's why we're here.

But I need to stay impartial for this to work.

We set rules for a reason.

We set deadlines for a reason.

That's the job.

Camille, go on, tell her.

Priya.

Hey.

-Hey. -Are you OK?

Yeah, just…

He thinks I'm taking it too personally.

Come on, that is utter lying.

I think he's right.

It is personal for me.

if I can't be objective

then maybe I shouldn't be here.

I think I just need some air.

All right.

Hey, see you tomorrow?

Yeah.

Holy…

Gloria,

call the restaurant

and see if DeeDee and the kids are still eating dinner.

Would you? Please

They called in an hour ago, Ken. The kids had trains to catch.

They said to tell you though that they understand.

Oh.

All right.

I understand and I'm sorry.

Go back tomorrow. I'll make sure--

Is there a problem? Gloria?

Ah, Mr. Donato, right?

Yeah, we had an appointment but we had traffic so we're late.

There's no one here. The whole staff is gone.

Oh, well…

I'll take this one. Come on in my office.

Not me.

Them.

So…

Frank told me about your husband.

-Nick. -Yeah.

Frank thinks this is a scam.

He said it's like blood money to cover up mistakes.

Well, at least you're open-minded.

I just think that the boys might want their dad's story told in your report.

If that's a thing.

Sure.

Are you gonna take notes or something?

Right.

Actually our stenographer already went home for the day.

Can't you type?

Hold one a minute here.

Here we go.

Why don't we…

start with your name.

OK. Karen Donato.

My husband, Nick.

Nicholas Donato was a NYC firefighter.

Ladder 179, at the Staten Island.

Yeah.

Do you…

Tell me more about him.

Do you have like a list of questions you could ask me maybe?

Well…

Actually I don't…

I don't usually do this part myself.

Yeah, I just… It's…

It's harder than I thought it's gonna be.

Yeah, I understand.

-Well, if you are uncomfortable-- -My husband of eight years

and I can't even think of anything to say about him.

Well…

He must've been a good dad.

Yeah.

Oh, God. He was a great dad.

He would come home every night after work,

he'd throw the ball at Franky Jr.

He would read Patty a book.

He didn't even mind when Tyler made number two.

He said he liked changing diapers.

That's a hero.

Yeah.

He was my whole world.

Can I have a tissue, please?

Yeah.

Here we go.

Thank you.

You know everybody keeps telling me

to move on.

I don't know how to do that.

I'm never gonna get over him.

Well, it's still very soon.

No, never!

-I'm really sorry. -No.

-That's all right. Look… -I'm sorry.

I just want you to know there's no pressure signing under the fund today.

And your status as a single mother--

No, I'm not gonna take any money.

Not now. No, but…

No, there's no money in the world that's good enough for Nick.

I didn't mean…

I had him in my life.

We had so many…

dreams and plans.

And things we were gonna do.

And it was just gone. It was gone.

He didn't even eat breakfast. He was just gone.

And now you're trying to give me money.

Frank wants me to make a stand.

There are lawyers calling me and telling me to sue everybody.

And the phone just won't stop ringing.

But it's never the phone call that I want.

It's never the call saying that they found his body.

That they're gonna bring him home.

And no offense,

I just want you, I want all of you to please stop calling me.

Please leave me alone.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I wasted your time.

Kenny?

I met a widow today.

Three kids.

Can you imagine?

No.

I didn't know what to say.

Sometimes there isn't anything to say.

Tower is blocked.

Can you reach--

Oh, God. I'll call when I get out.

People are collapsing from the smoke.

Bye, bye. Sorry.

Hi, Anna.

By now I guess you've heard about the mess in New York.

Well, a plane just hit here too. On the western side of the building.

FIX THE FUND

WHY IS THE VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND UNFAIR?

This is not the preferred option of the President of the United States

or any member of this body,

this is the last option.

We can make the case.

That it is obvious that Saddam Hussein continues

this build up of weapons of mass destruction and his desire

to network even up to an including nuclear weapons.

But we are not the ones who's forcing this issue.

The President of the United States and his resolution is not forcing an issue.

It is Saddam Hussein who's forcing this issue.

But we will if it comes to this debate…

Next stop on this Express train is New York Penn Station.

Next stop - New York Penn Station.

PRIYA KHUNDI, ESQ. KYLE AND MACALLAN

FIX THE FUND

FED UP WITH THE 9/11 VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND?

Excuse me for a moment, please.

Thank you. We'll start in a few minutes.

An enemy in our amidst.

-Hi. -Hi. Priya Khundi.

Yes, I remember.

Did Mr Feinberg send you here to

spy on us or to listen?

Actually, he doesn't know I came.

Must be easier for him if we just remain numbers, right?

More manageable.

He's right. It is.

I understand, yeah, yeah.

But you came.

Yeah, I've been following your blog.

Your wife, Catherine,

she had a job at Kyle & Macallan.

Yes, yeah.

That, was her dream job.

It would have been mine too.

It was… I was gonna start that week.

Oh, my…

Well, I'm glad that…

So, can I ask you then?

What would your life be worth

on your boss's spreadsheet?

I'm not married, so,

less than Catherine's.

And do you think that's fair?

No.

But your boss does.

He doesn't think fair exists.

Do you?

Honestly,

I don't know.

But, I did come here to listen.

DECEMBER 2002

COMMITED 12 % GOAL 80 %

This is the latest, huh? This is… You sure

this is the latest?

These totals are accurate?

Technically, we rounded up.

It's all right, it's OK.

We're still 12 months out. That's eternity.

It's like I say, people will wait for a deadline.

They're just avoiding it for now.

They are not avoiding it. They're just avoiding us.

I mean, look at this.

Oh yeah, yeah, "Fix the Fund,"

I remember, yeah, this is my pal, it's my buddy from the Town Hall.

His web page is receiving more than twice the visits ours does everyday.

He's got a mailing list of almost 7000 names.

So does that phone book.

I went to see him.

I told her it was OK to go.

Look, he is a leader.

-He is a gadfly. -But he's earning peoples' trust.

Every income level, first responders.

That's what we should be doing.

If he says so, all of them will sue.

What's he asking for?

Maybe you should ask him yourself.

Charles.

Mr Feinberg.

I'm sorry, they left you in here with the music running.

-Soothes the soul. -Yeah.

Yeah, this was the Lincoln Center cast if I'm not mistaken.

Bartoli was other-worldly.

Wow! You're an opera fan.

I was on the board that year.

My wife, Catherine, she was…

She sang soprano in an amateur touring choir

I sang tenor, and that's how we met.

Well, she must have had a lovely voice.

Yeah.

Would that help her fit into your formula?

Do you read my website?

I will confess I don't because I'm not a computer guy.

My staff handles all that and…

They tell me you're very reasonable man

and as I understand it,

you've taken on somewhat of a leadership role

amongst the people that we serve.

Nice, good, good.

Why don't we talk?

That's why I'm here.

Tell me what you want.

Because, we could make some adjustments. We could…

you know, raise the baselines.

So, you think this is about the money?

Of course, yeah.

That it's greed?

No, no. Not greed.

Money, yes. Greed, no.

Money, puts food on peoples' tables

and it puts roofs over peoples' heads.

There's nothing dirty in it, the meaning about it.

But, let's not pretend like it doesn't matter.

It does, it helps people move on.

Who?

-What do you mean "who"? -Do you know any of our names?

Have you met any of us yourself?

As a matter of fact, I have, yeah.

And what were they worth?

Well now, you're talking about numbers and you're pretending…

Throw it out.

Throw what out?

Throw out your formula.

I can't.

I can't. We need to have something rational.

I got it, I understand, I got it.

But, my wife is not a statistic.

No, certainly not, but,

we do have to go by a set of rules.

OK.

Will your rules help Graham Morris?

Graham Morris.

His partner died two weeks before their civil ceremony.

But your fund would give his full claim to his parents

who condemned his lifestyle.

-I recall it. -They were estranged,

completely estranged, Mr Feinberg. Is that fair?

But we're just the administrators on that…

All right, let's go to the section of your rules

that limits injuries to only those that occurred right away.

Because we have clean-up workers who come into our meetings

and they have polyps from asbestos.

-I think you think that… -They were on that site for weeks.

For weeks, breathing in that crap.

But, according to your rules, unless they got to that site

within three days of the attack…

That's because we have to draw the line somewhere.

If we award every worker who was injured on that site, I mean,

where does it end, you understand?

I don't know, you tell me.

That's up to you.

The law gives you broad discretion as special master, does it not?

-Yes. It does. -OK.

And responsibilities. Responsibilities to the tax payers,

to objectivity,

I can't bend the rules for every case

that doesn't fit the mold.

Why not?

Congress did.

You know they did.

When the law said that we could sue two airlines out of business

Congress re-wrote that law like that

in a day.

Why?

Because the big corporations asked them to.

But when 7000 citizens come to you and they ask you for respect,

and they ask you not to be treated like some numbers on a spreadsheet

you act like that law came down from messiah now?

Please, Mr Feinberg, don't, don't.

Don't tell me you can't give us what we want

just tell us that we are not the top priority.

Admit that

to yourself.

-Hello? -Is this Kenneth Feinberg?

Come here, come here.

Goddamnit.

Hello.

Hi, is this Kenneth Feinberg?

Yes, who's this?

Martin Cuthbert, sir. We haven't met.

I represent a claimant to your fund.

Uh, this is a private line,

fund matter should go through my office.

Right, the office, yes. I spoke to someone at the office

who said you took the meeting on this case yourself.

It's a young woman, by the name of Karen Donato, widow of Nicholas.

Yes, we spoke.

He was fireman with three sons

aged eight, six and four.

-Look… -What's this about?

Well, it's an unusual scenario, you see.

Look, I don't mean to cause you any trouble, Mr Feinberg.

Ken, Ken,

go ahead, I'm used to it. -All right, well, Ken

you see, my client, Melanie Veil was Mr Donato's mistress.

I'm not so… I'm not sure I heard correctly.

You heard correctly, Melanie Veil and Nick Donato

have two daughters on their own ages one, three, at the time of the attack.

I have DNA results to prove fraternity.

And my secretary can fax them over to your office.

Mr Feinberg?

Yes.

All right, I'm looking forward to going over the papers.

Like I said, I'm not trying to make trouble here

I just want you to know that when you cut that cheque for Mr Donato's wife

it needs to go to five children instead of three.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hey, mister.

So your office said that you had some more question about Nick.

Yeah. Really, it's more just of a record keeping thing.

Cause I already told you that we don't want the money.

Of course, yeah.

Oh look, there's your wedding pictures.

No.

OK, this is just for show.

The real one was at City Hall

before I was, you know, as big as a circus tent.

You know, I told them that I didn't need anything of grand and fancy

just to prove that he love me, but, uh

you know, he worked doubles for a whole year.

He wouldn't take a nickle from my family or anybody.

Just so we could have that picture on the wall.

He was like that.

And that,

I'm assuming Nicky Jr. there?

Oh, no…

That was a girl. We lost her. She was a preemie.

-Oh, I'm sorry. -That's OK.

Eden.

Most dads don't want little girls but Nicky always did.

Hey.

You didn't need to come. Sorry, excuse me.

You didn't have to come.

-I got the cereal for the kids. -Well, thank you.

Hey, hey!

-I'll be right back, I'm sorry. -Sure.

Hi, Frank.

I just wanted to…

discuss Nick's claim.

I already told you we're not making one.

Yeah. I know, of course. But I just…

You know, just in case Karen decides to…

Let me kind of show you something.

This, I wanna show this number here.

That's just uh… that's a presumptive calculation.

-That means it's… -I know what it means. To presume.

You and Nick were very close.

Yeah.

He's my kid brother.

So, I have to assume you would know

if there was something that Nick

wouldn't necessarily want Karen to know.

My brother was a family man.

Of course, of course, yeah.

We're not signing nothing.

Frank, this is money for those boys, it's tax free.

It's not everyday that the government…

They get to hang cause of people like you

holding the purse strings.

Now you think you could come here and make it right

by throwing some money on his grave?

Get out of his house.

All right.

So, this is Tom Junior.

Don't you think he looks older?

Tom Junior's the one not in uniform. He was a civilian contractor.

His brother, Dave, rejoined to fight for him.

That's very brave.

They were only 11 months apart.

Like two peas in a pod growing up.

I had a chance to meet Tom's partner, Graham Morris.

The gold digger.

Tom…

What my husband means to say is that man is a liar.

He and Tom were living together, he said that they had plans to…

They were room-mates.

Tom had girlfriends, he was…

-Mrs? -Biros.

Mrs Biros, this boy

had a long history of being infatuated with our son.

He tried to get his hooks in him but Tom didn't…

We knew our son.

These guys just crawl out of the wood-work.

I'm sure your office sees a lot of those.

I didn't get that sense from him.

Isn't that always the way?

Rumor has it that your numbers are a little stagnant.

There's still plenty of time.

Well, you had plenty of time and you signed what, 900?

That's not enough, Ken.

You know, I um… I sat down with your friend, Charles Wolf.

Wolf, well, good luck with him.

He's fighting for the left behind, by the way.

He's not trying to help the rich get richer.

See, it's that kinda accusation has people calling you insensitive.

Doesn't matter.

Anyway, I emphasized our common ground.

A rising tide leaps all boats.

I think I'm mixing the metaphor there, but the point is

if his support is joined our cause

we have enough participants to certify a sue.

Hold on here.

Are you threatening a class action?

No, I'm offering to help you out here.

Bullshit, you can afford to roll a dice

to win or lose a case over the course of 15 years.

Most of those people cannot.

With all due respect, you haven't met these people.

Your staff has and…

I got news for ya, they hate your guts.

Well, maybe they do, maybe they don't.

What I'm offering them is a choice.

And I'm here as a friend to give you the same.

Raise the ceiling on the top of words

and I'll deliver everybody to your fund.

Wrapped in a bow.

Let's win this together, Ken.

This isn't the latest one, or is it, Ken?

Fifteen percent?

John, we still have four months until the statutory deadline

but I'm confident.

Oh I know, confident.

Committees are getting nervous, Ken.

John, I didn't know you were having a meeting with the airline lobby.

I'm just here to listen.

We're told Lee Quinn is planning to bring suit.

Unless you give more money at the top.

Look, Quinn is not the issue.

You really want to change the law to help people?

There are plenty of emergency workers and firemen, they inhaled toxic chemicals,

didn't get sick till months later.

This law doesn't cover them.

No, that would be unproductive.

If you change rules now this bill gets kicked back

to the Congress for a comment period.

Have you ever experienced a comment period, Ken?

-No. -They'd be on their soapboxes

ten months after the whole statues could put the

whole economies in the toilet, nobody gets anything

including re-elected, so…

yeah.

No?

Quinn only cares about the people at the top

cause that's where he gets his paycheck.

His lawsuit is a problem for us.

Look, I work for the tax-payers.

We pay our share of the taxes too.

Yeah, but you don't have to look the victim in the eye.

As the special master you have brought discretionary power

even within your formula.

All we're asking is you use it here, to make Quinn happy, so he goes away.

Like I said, Ken, neutral party.

You have the DOJ support whatever you decide.

9/11 TRIBUTE

♪ I lost my mom, I lost an earring ♪

♪ I lost my father ♪

♪ I lost my voice, I lost my ticket ♪

♪ I lost the case, I lost the map ♪

♪ I lost my wits ♪

♪ I lost my way, I lost my time ♪

♪ I lost my sock, I lost my umbrella ♪

♪ I lost the store, I lost the coat ♪

♪ I lost my teeth ♪

♪ I lost my name, I lost my dog ♪

♪ I lost an erring, I lost my father ♪

♪ I lost my voice, I lost my ticket ♪

♪ I lost the case, I lost the map ♪

♪ I lost my grace ♪

♪ I lost my way, I lost my tongue ♪

♪ I lost my heart, I lost the faith ♪

♪ I lost the weight ♪

♪ I lost my way, I lost my temper ♪

♪ I lost the pride, I lost my pulse ♪

♪ I lost the time ♪

♪ I lost my name, I lost my hope ♪

Mr Feinberg? I thought I might see you here.

-Hello, Mr. Wolf. -Hi.

I think Catherine would have appreciated this modern stuff

but I can't understand music that you have to…

you know, struggle to listen to.

-You know? -I do.

Well, Puccini it ain't.

We can agree on that.

So, I thought you'd be on the seat of honor.

-That bad, huh? -Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, um…

the reason I even wanted to do this

was I really believed I should serve my country

in its time of need, and I did.

Maybe a part of that's ego,

but… here we are.

I've got, what? 11000 families, on board

and 6000 more to go.

Uh huh? Yeah, well…

I just want you to know that I know the fund's not perfect.

There are people who just don't fit within the rules that we wrote.

I know that.

I honestly don't know…

what to do.

Remember that you're not the bridge.

OK.

Sounds like a fortune cookie.

No.

Catherine and I, this town that we lived in years ago,

in upstate New York,

-Ithaca, you know? -Uh-hmm.

There was this gorgeous bridge.

Depression era, beautiful, to me, beautiful.

And the developers wanted to knock it down.

Cause they were there putting up the interstate.

So, I got on the city council

and I spent two years and all of our savings

fighting for that hunk of concrete.

And when they demolished it

I sat around the house moping for a couple of weeks,

feeling sorry for myself and…

then Catherine

you know, she looked at me one day

she told me that

you're not the bridge.

It is rubble, I'm not.

I am still here.

Fighting a new lost cause but…

Which is me, I suppose.

No, no, no…

See, I have nothing against you, Mr Feinberg.

-Look, I wanna make that clear. -OK, OK.

I just, look…

I may have screwed this whole thing up

very possible, but if I try to fix it now,

if I even go on record saying this thing even needs fixing

trust me, courts are gonna throw it back to Congress and they'll let it die.

Nothing for anyone, just dead.

Then it deserves to be.

Why? Because it's not perfect?

No, no.

Because, it's not just.

But I can't change that.

Well, something has to change.

Find it.

COMMITTED: 18% GOAL: 80%

REGULAR CHECKING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNT

UNCOMMITTED NY S UNCOMMITTED NY M

UNCOMMITTED NY P

Call of the search party, I found him.

Did you sleep here?

I guess so.

I was going through these cases, the uncommitted ones.

What's going on with that Silver Union suit you're working on?

That's one of dozens.

It won't be an issue for New York residents

cause Pataki just extended the spousal benefits

for gay people whose partners died.

Virginia Legislature feels differently.

Then we gotta call the governor, right?

Look, obviously

we can't help everyone with special interests.

We still have to set limits, but it's a start.

Now, that's the Civil Union, right?

Some of these poor people, these first responders

this is trickier, they didn't even know they were sick for months.

-Look at these… This is… -Ken.

I know, we're gonna have to take the heat on it.

That's the way it is. We're gonna have to set the formula aside.

-Ken. -I know, I know.

I know, we're in the weeds here.

That's where we should be.

If we do this, we have to go the whole way.

Can't go half way.

We have to consider every claimant individually.

If they can't come down here to see us, we're gonna have to go and see them.

Do you understand? Good.

What? You don't like it?

We love it.

Oh… Good.

Set some meetings, I'm gonna get coffee.

Me and a few of the other stronger guys, we pried open the doors so that

everyone could get away.

But that's, that's when it happened.

The oxygen down there ignited all the fuel and…

That was it.

A guy like me thinks he's tough. Think he can handle anything that's thrown at him.

That's until you look in the eyes of the…

five year old, and a six year old and you tell them that…

that you've been lying to them.

And that their Mommy's not coming home.

And asked me if he was wearing his wedding ring and I said, "no, why?"

Do you need something?

Oh, and I thought I'd join you in… Just perhaps listen.

Sandra, is that OK?

Go on. Whenever you're ready.

I used to ask each time he flew over school or work, I would ask for his itinerary.

Just so I could breath a little easier.

Knowing he landed…

back on solid ground.

It takes a parent to know that feeling.

And I'll never have it again.

It's a fishing fly.

He made them.

We made them together.

My wife and I want you to keep it.

Well, thank you.

Thank you.

We were told

because he suffered about 90 percent burns over his body

he might not appear to be the same person we know him to be.

And then, we got a call from the medical examiner's office

saying that there was a mix-up.

And we had to make another identification.

It turned out we spent four days

at the bedside of a stranger.

While Alex…

while he died.

You know, my wife and I, we were thinking, gosh, those poor people.

Because at first, you assume it's happening to someone else.

And then, within a few hours they of course confirm

that she was there for a meeting.

We realized we were one of those people.

I mean, it was staggering.

I'm sorry.

I was on the 85th floor.

We actually started going down the stairs early…

But you can call me Gene.

Gene, tell me a little about yourself.

When did you move way from Iowa?

1997. I got a job as analyst right away.

I was actually so excited to be there.

It's completely up to you but I think you should take

what's the government’s giving.

-I got bad anxiety. -I don't know. I don't sleep much.

I had to move out of the city.

I'm there seeing the whole in the skyline.

I want to do everything I can to expedite this process.

-Well, Florida is nice. -Yeah.

"Seems as if I don't feel anything

but inside, I do.

Inside I want to burst and just talk to everyone about

what I'm holding in.

I wanna say how much pain I have and I wanna say all the pressure that I have.

I have to get through myself, emotionally

I have to help them and be strong for them

but also still be strong for me."

My dad was good at that.

I have to be the man that he was.

DECEMBER 1, 2003 3 WEEKS TO DEADLINE

COMMITED 36 % GOAL 80 %

It's not enough.

So, we keep going, right up to the deadline.

Maybe we get the word out wider? Make a public statement.

Nah, if we announce this publicly

it starts to look like that they're changing the policy,

then the law goes back to Congress.

FIX THE FUND

What if someone else announces it?

So, you're meeting with people?

Yeah.

And I hear you've been telling them that…

You're throwing out the formula.

Nope. The law gives me discretion which someone reminded me,

so, I'm going to use it.

But I promise you, if people come aboard, I will do everything I can to help them.

Guaranteed by what?

Your word?

Oh, Charles, I mean…

What?

No, I'm sorry. Mr Feinberg,

you've been telling us for two years

that you're nothing but a numbers cruncher for the government.

And now you're asking us to trust you.

No, I'm asking you.

You already have their trust. And you earned that. Help them trust me too.

Are you just trying to win?

No, I'm trying to make things right.

When's your deposition with Lee Quinn?

Monday.

He's gonna tell you you wanted kids.

Forty year old married female

who is pregnant or even she's just trying to get pregnant.

The damage settlement shoots way up, way up. Skyward.

And Quinn's gonna coach you through every step.

When to cry. When to quiver your lip.

How do you know this?

Cause we are the same guy.

And that's what I do.

DECEMBER 10, 2003 13 DAYS TO DEADLINE

OFFICES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Ashcroft's stood you up?

He's under pressure of his own.

Do you think it's a message? "Give Quinn what he wants"?

I'm not suggesting it.

There's still time. You always say they'll come in at the deadline.

What if I'm wrong?

What if I'm wrong, Camille?

Sorry. You did everything you could.

Everyone did everything they could.

A call for you, Ken. Lawyer from Queens.

-Name's Cuthbert. -Take a message, please.

He already left you three. It's about the Donato case.

He says if you don't tell the widow he will.

And to tell you that you have until tomorrow.

Ken?

Karen isn't home yet.

She told me you called.

Said you wouldn't tell her why.

When will she be back?

Put away your checkbook. We're joining the lawsuit.

Well, you'll do whatever you have to do.

Yeah, but you know better, right?

I would not presume or judge.

Bullshit.

You see her being loyal to a dead guy, you can't imagine why.

Frank, the signing deadline is Saturday.

After that you won't see me anymore.

It's the first thing you said I'm glad to hear.

I'm still gonna have to talk to Karen first.

Like I said she's not home.

Tell me and I'll pass it along.

I don't think you would, Frank.

In fact, I think you already know.

You don't have to protect him anymore. Nick's gone.

You didn't know Nick. He was a good man.

This is not about Nick.

He went back in for me

into that tower.

Did you know that?

No.

For all I know, he heard the evac orders on his radio and he said, "Fuck it,

my brother's in there."

He died trying to save me and you think I should…

I should forget about that?

Don't you have a family?

If you die tomorrow what's the worst they find out about you?

Maybe you're not such a hero either.

I'm not a hero.

Yeah, well… Nick was. He was a family man. He was a good man.

And that's why he'd want his children taken care of.

All of them.

Frank, if I were you, honestly…

I don't know what I would do. I can't imagine.

I might wanna sue the hell outta everyone.

But you're not the only one who's left behind.

I know you know that.

That family wants the money so they can just move on.

And I think they deserve it.

And I think Nick would think so too.

That's why I'm…

I'm gonna count them as equal beneficiaries.

I just thought Karen should know. And I wanted to tell her myself.

So she didn't have to read the public record.

What are their names?

-Karen, go back in the house. -No.

I wanna know.

Jenna and Bell.

He always wanted girls.

You're happy?

DECEMBER 19, 2003 5 DAYS TO DEADLINE

COMMITED 51 % GOAL 80 %

Mail's here.

Do y'all wanna sign for these together?

I'll sign.

What does it look like there? How many do we got?

How many do you have?

Thirty. Maybe forty.

Me too.

I'm sorry.

You did the best you could.

Did I?

I'm still sorry.

You're working too hard, Ken.

Get yourself a drink.

No. I'm fine. Let's just get on with it.

Don't think I don't respect it.

Your whole crusade.

That's not what this is.

No, I know.

You're a Robin Hood. You're solving everybody's problems.

One good deed at a time.

You poisoned the well.

You did, Lee.

You poisoned the well. You played on peoples' fear

and their pain, and their anger, their distrust of government,

to act against their own best interests.

Look, my girl's birthday is today.

Caterer is coming.

You gonna meet these numbers or what?

Give me a pen.

Look, I know, it hurts.

But "fair" is not the goal.

It's "finish and move on."

I said that.

Yeah. You probably did.

You've always been my hero, Ken.

I watched you argue in front of a fold.

1984. You had hair then.

Doubt you believed a word you said but man, did it sound good.

What are you doing? Ken?

Don't be an idiot.

Ken.

Come on, man.

Change of heart, Lee.

Ken.

Ken!

Ken.

What is going on here?

The families. It's been like this the whole morning.

Some calls, some walk-ins.

Suddenly everyone wants to have a private meeting.

Why?

"By now many of us have sat down with Mr. Feinberg.

Looked him the eye.

We've told him it's not the money that we're after.

It's for our own government, this system to treat us all with dignity, respect.

While I can't speak for the system, but I have come to believe in Mr. Feinberg.

That's why I'm happy to announce, The Fund is Fixed."

We've just passed 65 %.

All right, let's keep going everybody.

I give you a number right there.

Carrie, is that Richmond? I need that as soon as you're done.

Yeah. Yeah.

Well, I know your kids start school soon.

If you'd like we can fax a redirect payment right into the tuition account.

And… that would be helpful? How does that sound?

What I can do is fax some materials to a copy center.

You near one of those?

You know what, I can look that up for you.

All right, you're still up the Arthur Ave. address?

Hello.

Charles.

I should get back to it.

-Nice to see you. -Yeah, you too.

Here you go.

There's still a typo on page three.

We'll get right on that.

And you were wrong about me and Quinn.

He didn't try to coach you?

He did.

But…

you're nothing like him.

Bye, Mr. Feinberg.

Ken.

No, Mrs Banton, I've been handling your claim myself.

I know there's been an issue with your husband's life insurance offset.

And look, I've been fiddling with the numbers.

And I wanna propose something. I think you gonna like it.

We just wanna make sure you have everything you need…

This one gets through me. You filled it out right.

Does anybody wanna give me a hand here?

It's a lot more down the truck.

Please tidy it up.

Thank you.

OK, come on guys, let's go.

Let's go.

OK. What have you got?

A little over 95 % so far.

Should we call the President?

Let's get drunk.

Let's get drunk with the President.

Mr. Morris, this is Camille Biros from a "Victim Compensation Fund."

I'm sure you've heard the news.

You should know because of your case

we were able to accommodate

a great number of people in similar relationships in New York.

But…

Unfortunately…

Tom's parents, being how they are…

And Virginia State Law we were not able to accommodate yours.

I'm so sorry.

I'm sure that doesn't help.

Hey, I'm just gonna talk to him…

Hey, Mr. Feinberg.

-Look, I'm sorry-- -Come on over here.

I…

I just…

I didn't wanna know.

I'm not stupid.

You know.

He'd get a call after dinner, and he'd say it was Frank.

You know and there was like a three-alarm in the city or whatever.

Then he'd kiss me goodbye.

And I would pretend like I didn't know that he was lying.

Then later I'd be over with Irene and…

You know, Frank would come home after drinking with the boys

and I would say, "How'd that three-alarm go?"

And you know he would look at me

with the straightest face you've ever seen in your life, and he'd say,

"Nicky's moping up."

But he was a real hero that night. You should've seen him.

"Might be a while though, so don't wait up."

And you know I don't hate Frank for that.

Because Nick, he was his little brother.

I didn't want him to die.

Of course not.

But I used to wish all sorts of things about her.

You didn't do anything wrong, Karen.

-No, God tests us. -No, it's not your fault.

Will you make sure that they get what they need,

his little girls?

I will.

$450,000.

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was the only fund of its kind in US history

It ultimately signed on 97 % of eligible claimants,

distributing over 7 billion dollars in public money to 5,650 people.

Only 94 people declined to participate.

While the 9/11 Compensation Fund formally closed in 2003,

new funds with different special masters were established in 2011, and again in 2019,

due to overwhelming public outcry to continue supporting first responders

and others suffering long term adverse health effects.

Since 9/11 Ken and Camille have continued to administer compensation funds

on behalf of tens of thousands of victims in a variety of cases, such as

Transcript by sub.Trader & Clarity