EAST NORTHPORT, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — As they have done for other heroes, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation will pay off the mortgage on the home of fallen NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos.
Anastasios Tsakos, a 14-year veteran of the department, was fatally struck in a hit-and-run crash by an alleged drunken driver while diverting traffic away from a separate deadly wreck on the Long Island Expressway in Queens this week.
The 43-year-old highway patrol officer, his wife and their two young children — a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son — had just moved into their new home in East Northport last summer.
The officer's widow, Irene, had expressed concerns about whether the family would be able to stay in their newly-purchased home.
"She told me what are we going to do now? Am I going to have to move again?" the officer's brother, Teddy, said.
Now, she will not have to worry about mortgage payments again thanks to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
"We are devastated by this tragic loss. Officer Tsakos was one of our city's heroes who went to work to keep us and our city safe and he did not make it home to his wife and children. A family went to bed and woke up to the unimaginable news that they would never see their husband and father again," said Tunnel to Towers CEO and Chairman Frank Siller.
Teddy Tsakos said Siller told them, "Don't worry the kids are going to grow up in this house."
Siller's group has done this before for fallen officers and service members.
"By the end of this year we will have delivered over 370 mortgage-free homes," Siller said.
The 9/11-related charity was started in memory of Siller's brother, Stephen, a firefighter who died while responding to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"He has inspired many people, most certainly his family, to do good," Siller said.
Funeral services for Tsakos will be held Tuesday on Long Island.
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