Plaintiffs' Statements   Tara Bane Clara Chirchirillo Grace Godshalk Fiona Havlish Theresann Lostrangio Ellen Saracini Russa Steiner   Statement of Russa Steiner   I am Russa Steiner, widow of William Steiner, married for thirty-two years and reside in Pennsylvania with our children since 1987. My husband worked for Marsh, Inc. and its subsidiaries since 1970. He worked his way up the corporate ranks to become Managing Director for Information Technology. His office was located on the southeast side of the 97th floor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Born in Newark, New Jersey fifty-six years ago, a middle son, Bill lived most of his young life in New Jersey. He graduated from Weequahic High School in 1962 and went on to graduate from The College of Insurance/St. Johns University with degrees in computer sciences, business, insurance and reinsurance. Well respected and admired, family, friends and coworkers remember Bill as a devoted family man with an impeccable work ethic. He enjoyed going to the movies, renting videos, watching sports, listening to music, traveling and learning about history. A car enthusiast for many years, he loved staying at home and tinkering. With a reserved personality, people who knew him appreciated his generosity and sense of humor. By the way he lived his life, he has been a role model to many. Tuesday, September 11th began for me like any other. My husband awoke at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for a commute to a job that he loved in a city that he loved. He left at 5:30 to get a head start on his workday, which had been his practice throughout his career. Since it was a beautiful Tuesday morning, on my way to work, I stopped off at an outdoor market. While walking through the aisles, I overhead a news bulletin on the radio, which prompted me to ask a vendor to please repeat what I thought I just heard. "A plane hit the World Trade Center." I remember saying, "My husband works there" and noticed her horrified expression. I proceeded immediately to my car to phone my husband. Unsuccessful in my attempts, I went home and tried again to reach him, to no avail. I called my work and explained that I would be in as soon as I heard from my husband. I next put on the television in our family room with the phone by my side and witnessed the second plane hit the South Tower, saw the fire and smoke and observed both towers crumble and watched in disbelief as the horrors of that infamous day unfolded. After speaking with our children, the older children came directly home to be with me and await revelations. While dealing with the shock and confusion of what was transpiring, we held out hope for a miracle, not unlike thousands of other families. We frantically took turns calling hospitals, radio and television stations, co-workers of my husband and researching the Internet to obtain information. After three weeks of being in shock and frozen at home, the status of the missing persons from "ground zero" changed from "missing" to "missing, presumed dead". It was at this time that I was forced to face the possibility of what seemed inevitable. Our lives were turned upside-down and that we might never see William again. As my husband customarily handled the mundane chore of family maintenance, I was both inexperienced and overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. On Saturday, October 6th, I left our home for the first time since September 11th with my family and an advocate. She took us to an appointment at the New Jersey Family Assistance Center and "ground zero". After the site visit, I left our children at the family center in the company of volunteer "companions" while I visited the trailers with advocates who assisted me in navigating through the maze of services, charities, organizations and legal necessities. I did not want to subject my children to the continuing pain of retelling our story or asking for "hand outs". Since September 11th, I have felt supported and been deeply moved by compassionate acts of family, friends, neighbors, community members and total strangers. After thirty-two years of a happy and successful marriage, I'm struggling to adjust to my new life situation, both emotionally and financially. Dealing with nightmares, children's questions, medication, psychiatrists, psychologists, family counselors, forms, paperwork and the like, are now all staples in my daily life. My husband is sorely missed. On September 11th, we, as Americans, lost not only thousands of innocent lives, but also our innocence as a country. My participation in this endeavor is not about financial gain or "getting even". It is about an effort to do something positive to honor my husband and the thousands of victims of the terrorist attacks who cannot speak for themselves. By participating in this class action against the terrorists, I hope to create an obstruction to further financial aid to all terrorists. I also hope to spare other families the pain and suffering endured by my family and all the others we represent. Russa Steiner February 19, 2002         Return to Home Page | Site Design by Ravine Design & Advertising