Jamie Schram writes in the New York Post:
An ad agency for a law firm specializing in 9/11 lawsuits said today it is pulling the controversial posters after it was revealed that the somber, soot-smeared FDNY firefighter holding an image of the charred remains of the World Trade Center was not actually at Ground Zero.
“We issue a sincere and deep apology to Firefighter [Robert] Keiley and this ad will not run again,” said John Barker, president of the Barker/DZP ad agency.
The Post reported today that Keiley — who joined New York’s Bravest only in 2004 — was working as a model when he posed for what he thought would be used for a run-of-the-mill fire-prevention ad.
He appeared in generic firefighter gear and gripped a helmet for the shot — not the photo of the destroyed Twin Towers that was “put” into his hands with Photoshop software for the Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern ad.
“It’s an insult to the Fire Department. It’s an insult to all the families who lost people that day,” said Keiley, 34, an ex-cop who now works out of an engine company in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Keily had threatened to sue. “It makes me look like I’m cashing in on 9/11, saying I was there even though I was never there, and that I’m sick and possibly suing, trying to get a chunk of money.”
For more information, see original article.
