Cops Injured in Bomb Blasts Honored
'Kindness Chiseled in Stone'

By REUVEN BLAU

Det. Anthony Senft's life changed forever in 1982 when he was injured while attempting to defuse a bomb near 1 Police Plaza on New Year's Eve.

NYPD Photo Unit HONORING BOMB SURVIVORS: Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, right, honored Detective Salvatore (Richie) Pastorella, far left, and two of his colleagues who were severely injured while trying to defuse bombs planted outside Police Headquarters 25 years ago. The other officers listed on the plaque placed outside the security annex outside 1 Police Plaza last week are: Detectives Rocco Pascarella and Anthony Senft.

"You don't want anybody to drop anything loud behind you," he said following the NYPD's Dec. 31 ceremony dedicating the headquarters visitor's entrance to him and two other officers injured 25 years earlier to the day by bombs left the by the FALN, a Puerto Rican separatist group.

Remembers Explosion

"It was right there," he added, pointing to a spot nearby St. Andrew's Plaza, outside the U.S. Attorney's Office where the bomb exploded.

According to witnesses, the blast sent him 15 feet in the air. He was blinded in his right eye, broke his hip, and lost partial hearing in both ears.

"All I remember is the explosion," he remarked. "It took me five years to get healthy."

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly also honored Detectives Rocco Pascarella and Salvatore Pastorella, who were injured by what he referred to as a domestic "terrorist organization."

"These three members of the New York City Police Department took their sworn oath to protect the public to incredible, heroic lengths," Commissioner Kelly told the audience before the unveiling. "The memorial plaque that will be installed at this site is a small but tangible recognition of the tremendous debt we and all New Yorkers owe them."

First Blast at 26 Fed

The explosions started on Dec. 31, 1982 after a bomb was detonated in the lobby of the Jacob Javits Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza at 9:27 p.m. That blast shattered windows from the lower floors.

In response, then-Police Officer Pascarella conducted a security sweep of Police Headquarters and discovered a fast-food container on the ground near the north entrance. As he moved closer to examine the box, it exploded.

The blast left the 13-year department veteran blind in one eye and with permanent injuries to his left leg. Despite his massive bleeding, he told Bomb Squad Detectives Pastorella and Senft how the device was disguised.

Glad to be Attending

At 10 p.m., a little more than a half-hour after the initial explosion, a third bomb went off at the U.S. District Courthouse in Brooklyn. Detectives Pastorella and Senft were then sent to investigate two additional suspicious packages near 1 Police Plaza.

Following protocol, they cleared the area, put on their bomb suits, and placed Kevlar blankets over the suspicious devices. Just as they knelt down to dismantle the first device, it exploded, seriously injuring both men.

"I'm blessed," Detective Senft said last week standing near the commemorative plaque. "Who would have thought that after such a horrific night I'd be honored? They usually honor you when you are dead."

Commissioner Kelly noted that, incredibly, the officers all stayed on the job despite their injuries and long rehabilitations, working to counsel other officers who have gone through similar traumatic experiences.

'Sharing Makes Difference'

Officer Pastorella, 67, ultimately retired 14 years ago, but still works to help other officers injured on the job. Detective Senft, who is the president of the Self Support Group of the NYPD, said that the organization tries to match injured officers with colleagues who have experienced similar tragedies. "If you lose a leg, we surround you with people who lost a leg," he told reporters.

As for discussing his own experience, he said that took time. "It's part of my life," he remarked. "At first I wouldn't talk about it. But if you can share it with somebody, that can be a difference."

All the news of terrorist bombings throughout the world has made it harder to move on, he added. "It's very difficult to forget with all the things happening now," Detective Senft said.

The plaque was unveiled on the security annex that was created after 9/11 so that people would never forget, Commissioner Kelly said.

"Injuries are written in dust, kindnesses are chiseled in stone," Detective Pastorella told NY1. "This is one of those kindnesses that is chiseled in stone."