Remembering the Rams We Lost

Thirty-six Fordham alumni and three students died at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Some were there every day — 13 of them worked at the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, located in Tower One. Others were there by chance for a meeting, or were firefighters who rushed into the flames to save others.

Today Fordham Daily pays tribute to them all, as Rams and as people.

Gary M. Albero, GSB ’85 was an insurance broker who was at the World Trade Center for a breakfast meeting. A native of Emerson, N.J., he volunteered at a local homeless shelter and was heavily involved in community outreach. He was married and had an 18-month-old son.

Joseph R. Allen, FCRH ’84 spent seven years in Los Angeles trying his luck as an actor, and then spent several more years traveling the world. He had finally settled down, becoming a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald. He was survived by a younger sister, three older brothers and six nieces and nephews.

Michael J. Armstrong, FCLC ’90 was a vice president of sales at Cantor Fitzgerald who was to marry his fiancée on Oct. 6, 2001. He was also a counselor of sorts: A drug-addicted Grateful Dead fan who Armstrong once randomly talked to on the subway later sent him a letter saying he had cleaned up his act and reconciled with his parents.

Nicholas W. Brandemarti, GSB ’01 was a fullback on the Fordham football team who greeted girls with the gallant phrase, “And there she is.” A concussion forced him to stop playing during his senior year, but then-coach David Clawson made him a student coach. He was an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods at the time of the attacks.

Lloyd Brown, PCS was born in Jamaica but spent his childhood in the Bronx. He served in the Navy for four years, and at the time of the attacks he was a compliance officer for institutional equities at Cantor Fitzgerald. He was also the father of two young children. He was pursuing his bachelor’s degree through Fordham’s professional and continuing studies program at the time of his death.

Matthew J. Burke, FCRH ’95 was a quarterback at Xavier High School in Manhattan who led the league in touchdowns and interceptions. He paid his way through Fordham with tips he got bartending. On 9/11, he was working as a broker at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Thomas J. Celic, GBA ’82 was a cross-country runner at Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island before coming to Fordham. His brother and coach Marty was a New York City firefighter killed in the line of duty in 1977. After college Thomas continued racing on Staten Island, and also ran the New York City Marathon, in which he usually finished in the top 300. He worked at Marsh & McLennan and is survived by his wife Roseanne.

Christopher Clarke, GSB ’90 loved cigars, cheeseburgers and Coke in the old-fashioned glass bottles. He married his wife Casey in April 2001, and they settled down in Philadelphia, where she worked. Every day he made the three hour trip to the World Trade Center, where he was a bond trader for Sandler O’Neill & Partners.

Kevin F. Cleary, Esq., LAW ’91 was a stockbroker for Euro Brokers, but his true love was the stage. He was a part-time actor who idolized Paul Newman, and was preparing to play Lennie in Of Mice and Men at the time of the attacks. He was also a world traveler, who visited Vietnam, Cuba, Thailand and Tuscany.

Patricia A. Cody, PCS was a senior vice president at Marsh and McLennan and an evening student at Fordham. She was studying to become an English teacher and was on track to finish her degree by June 2002. She did not work at the World Trade Center; she was there on 9/11 for a company meeting.

Scott Thomas Coleman, GBA ’00 worked with his brothers Keith and Todd in equities at Cantor Fitzgerald. Keith also died on 9/11. Raised in Westport, CT, Scott and his brothers had often talked about being the three patriarchs of one big happy family.

Patricia M. Colodner, FCLC ’95 was a secretary at Marsh & McLennan. She married her husband Warren in 1990, and they had two children, who were two and nine at the time of 9/11 . Her favorite activity every year was dressing up for Halloween with her kids.

Thomas P. Cullen, FCRH ’92 met his wife Susan at Fordham. In senior year he took the law boards (for his parents) and the firefighters test (for himself). He aced the latter, but had to wait four years for a job opening. On 9/11, he was a member of Squad 41 in the Bronx and was studying for the lieutenant’s exam.

Dwight D. Darcy, Esq., FCRH ’67, LAW ’71 attended Fordham Prep as well as the university and law school. He was a labor relations lawyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for 25 years who still had vivid memories of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He and his wife Veronica lived in Bronxville, and they often attended Met and City Opera performances with a group of Fordham alumni.

Christopher Dincuff, GBA got his undergraduate degree from Villanova, and had an undying love for the school, particularly its basketball team. A native of South River, N.J., he was an assistant trader for Carr Futures who had gotten engaged in Feb. 2001. He was pursuing his graduate business degree at Fordham.

John J. Doherty, GBA ’81 was a vice president for Aon. He was an avid golfer who frequented Westchester County’s courses and driving ranges. He is survived by his wife Mary and daughters Barbara and Maureen.

Sareve Dukat, GBA ’81 worked for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. An avid theatergoer, she also loved walking in Riverside Park and on Long Beach, and she was a big Mickey Mantle fan. She was married to her husband Joel for 33 years.

Andrew Fisher, GBA ’92 was a sales manager for Imagine Software who was attending a seminar at Cantor Fitzgerald on 9/11. He lived in Amsterdam, Australia and Canada before settling in Manhattan. He was an avid swimmer who quietly competed in races. His family found a third place medal in his gym bag after he died.

Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, GBA ’92 was a bond salesman and financial adviser at Sandler O’Neill & Partners. After the plane hit the first tower, he called his clients, assuring them he was in no danger. He lived in Tuckahoe, NY with his wife Marianne and two children Brendan and Caralyn.

Cono E. Gallo, GBA ’01 was a commodities broker with Carr Futures who lived in Queens with his wife, Vicki. The week before the World Trade Center attacks, the two were on vacation in Jamaica, where they won the “Newlywed Game” at their resort. On the morning of 9/11, he took a bag of Avon cosmetics to the office- his wife sold them, and several of his coworkers were her customers.

Giovanna G. Gambale, FCRH ’96 was a vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald who loved the Mets. Her sister Antonia, who also worked in the World Trade Center, survived the 9/11 attacks. In the days after 9/11, her father Anthony held prayer services in front of their house, trying to help “destroy hatred and bigotry.”

William A. Gardner, GSB ’77 was a systems analyst at eSpeed, part of Cantor Fitzgerald. He was survived by his wife Liz and two sons Gregory and Andrew. He bought Liz a fig tree on Mother’s Day in 2001 to celebrate their Italian roots. She ate the one fig it produced the week after 9/11; it was delicious.

Rev. Francis E. Grogan, C.S.C., GRE ’68 was a sonar expert on a Navy destroyer during World War II, but he spent most of his life as a chaplain, teacher and parish priest. On Sept. 11, he was on Flight 175 flying to visit his sister in California when the plane crashed into the second tower of the World Trade Center.

Linda C. Lee, Esq., LAW ’94 was a senior associate at Jennison Associates, a financial services firm. On Sept. 11, she was attending a technology conference at the trade center. In high school, she and a friend would sneak from Maryland to New York for the weekend and sweet talk cabbies into letting them drive the taxi.

Thomas Anthony Mahon, GSB ’89 worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, and lived on his beloved Oyster Bay, Long Island. He wanted his daughter Shay to have the experience he had growing up there, and he loved taking her mountain biking through the neighborhood.

Christian H. Maltby, FCRH ’86 signed with Wilhelmina Models to help pay his way through Fordham. He appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, and on the covers of teenage romance novels. He was a vice president for currency trading at Cantor Fitzgerald. He was survived by his wife Jane and children Max, Morgan, and Samuel.

John F. McDowell Jr., GSB ’91 worked at Sandler O’Neill- but before that he was a caddy in the Hamptons. When he saw a man who had interviewed him on the golf course, he was so enthusiastic about the job that the interviewer said if he stopped talking, he could start Monday morning. A lover of fine dressing, he was finally able to buy a Brooks Brothers suit for work. He was engaged at the time of his death.

Eskedar Melaku, GBA ’01 was born in Ethiopia but immigrated to attend Queens College. She was an assistant vice president at Marsh & McLennan, and three-quarters of the way through her CPA exam. She liked exploring new things, but the one thing she and her friend wouldn’t do is “suffer through the opera.”

John M. Moran, Esq., LAW ’94 was a New York City fireman and a lawyer. A Battalion Chief on Roosevelt Island, he had finished his shift at 7 a.m. on 9/11 but had lingered at the firehouse. When the World Trade Center call came in, he asked the Chief if he could go along. The Chief said yes and Moran jumped into the truck. He is survived by his wife Kim and children Ryan and Dylan.

James M. Patrick, GSB ’93 was a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald. He died seven weeks before the birth of his first child; he was also survived by his wife Terilyn. When the North Tower was hit, Patrick was on the phone with a client. He interrupted the conversation to say that he had to evacuate the building. That was the last he was heard from.

Everett M. Proctor III, GSB ’79 was an equities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, who had moved to the city from Connecticut in Jan. 2001. He was an avid music and movie fan, but what he loved the most was his sister Mary. He called her several times a day to check in; they talked three times on Sept. 10, 2001.

Robert D. Pugliese, GSB ’76 was an assistant vice president at Marsh & McLennan who commuted two hours from East Fishkill, NY to the World Trade Center. When not at work, he chauffeured his kids around in a rust-brown 1978 Thunderbird with a peeling interior. The car no longer runs, but it is parked on the street in front of his family’s home.

Joseph Roberto, GSB ’86, GBA ’90 was a bank analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. An avid motorcyclist, he gave his wife Janet a ride on his Suzuki Intruder when they first met. He also loved wildlife, and he and Janet took three trips to the Bronx Zoo with their 17-month-old son in the summer of 2001.

John P. Salamone, GBA ’97 brokered preferred stocks at Cantor Fitzgerald, but he was most devoted to his family- his wife Mary Ellen and three children Alex, Aidan and Anna. He coached his sons’ soccer team, which shut down for two weeks after the attacks. When play resumed, Alex scored the first goal.

Kevin T. Szocik, GSB ’97 was a vice president at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. A native of Lunenberg, MA, where he was a star athlete, he fell in love with New York once he started work at the trade center. He loved Les Misérables and exploring the beaches of Montauk. He married his wife Lorraine, from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on May 5, 2001. They lived in Garden City.

Michael A. Tamuccio, GSB ’85 was a vice president for equities trading at Fred Alger Management, known for helping others find work on Wall Street. He and his wife loved skiing in the Adirondacks. One highlight of his time at Fordham: he once wrestled down a mugger, grabbed his weapon (a sock filled with quarters) and then used the change to do laundry for the next few weeks.

Peter M. West, PHA ’68 was a municipal bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald. A lifelong daredevil, he rode his Harley-Davison Softail Deuce every weekend, with his wife Eileen following him in the car. The couple had two children, Meredith and Matthew.

David H. Winton, GSB ’94 was the chief executive of Fordham’s federal credit union, helping it double its assets in two years. After graduation he became a vice president at Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods; he made frequent trips back to Fordham to serve on the student bank’s supervisory board. Ten minutes after the plane hit his building, he called his mother to tell her he was all right and looking for a way out. He was planning to marry his fiancée on Nov. 17, 2001.

Joseph J. Zuccala, GBA ’74 was a banking consultant at Fuji Bank. A fan of the oldies, he once threw a house party at which everyone had to come dressed as they were for their high school prom. But a few weeks before 9/11, he went to a Bon Jovi concert to widen his musical horizons.