- Curtis Sliwa
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Curtis Sliwa 
Sliwa in Bahrain, January 2007Born March 26, 1954
Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.Known for founding the Guardian Angels; radio talk show host and media personality Curtis Sliwa (born March 26, 1954) is an American anti-crime activist, founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, and radio talk show host and media personality.
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Guardian Angels
In May 1977, Sliwa created the "Magnificent 13", a group dedicated to combating violence and crime on the New York City subways. At the time, the city was experiencing a crime wave. The Magnificent 13 grew and was renamed the Guardian Angels. The group's actions drew strong reactions, both positive and negative,[1] from the police, public officials, residents and the media. Throughout the early 1980s the group's distinctive uniform, a military type red beret and white insignia t-shirt, became recognizable as the group grew and courted media attention.
In the early 1980s, he became active in Buffalo, New York and was often critical of local police policies and practices.[2] Sliwa continues to act as the President of the organization and oversees its worldwide operations. His wife, Mary, is Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. He frequently visits chapters throughout the world and graduates new chapters. As of 2011, Sliwa states that the Guardian Angels operate in nine countries and 82 cities around the world, with approximately 5,000 members. Sliwa went on to become a populist, conservative radio talk show host.
Controversy
Sliwa admitted that he had fabricated several of the Angels' exploits, including a false allegation that he had been kidnapped in 1980 by off-duty transit officers. As well as admitting to "faking several kidnapping attempts on himself to make himself seem more valuable to the public" he said in later statements.[3][4]
Murder attempt on Sliwa
On June 19, 1992, Sliwa was kidnapped and shot by two gunmen after entering a stolen taxi in Manhattan. The taxi picked up Sliwa near his home in the East Village and a gunman hiding in the front passenger seat jumped up and fired several shots, hitting him in the groin and legs. The kidnapping was apparently foiled when Sliwa leapt from the front window of the moving cab and escaped. Sliwa underwent surgery for internal injuries and leg wounds.[5]
Federal prosecutors eventually charged John A. Gotti, the son of Gambino crime family leader John Gotti, with the attempted murder, among a raft of other charges. Prosecutors claimed that Gotti was angered by remarks Sliwa had made about his father on his radio program. However, after three attempts to try him, the last on September 20, 2005, three separate juries were unable to agree to convict Gotti on all of the charges brought against him and the charges were dropped. Jurors later told reporters they did believe he had a role in Sliwa's shooting.[6] Prosecutors declined to re-try Gotti and dismissed the charges against him. Sliwa has said he would seek damages in civil court.[7] Michael Yannotti, a Gotti associate, was also charged with shooting Sliwa in the incident but was acquitted. Yannotti, however, was sentenced to 20 years on an unrelated racketeering charge.[8]
Career in radio
Curtis Sliwa in September 2007
Sliwa has been a radio broadcaster for more than two decades, most of that time on WABC, where he began his career in 1990. In 1994, the then city-owned and operated WNYC hired Sliwa, who had been released by WABC. Some, including Sliwa,[9] have suggested that he was forced on the station by newly-elected mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom he had supported in the mayoral race.[10] Sliwa stayed four months in the position before moving back to commercial radio.
He was back at WABC in 1996,[11] and in 2000 he became the co-host, with attorney Ron Kuby, of the long-running Curtis and Kuby in the Morning. The show lasted eight years before Citadel Broadcasting replaced the team with Don Imus.[12] The station retained Sliwa until November 2009, when his show was cancelled after a contract dispute.[13] He has since moved to a morning show on WNYM radio.[14]
Personal life
Sliwa was born into a Catholic family of Polish, Italian, and Assyrian descent in Canarsie, Brooklyn. He was raised a member of the Assyrian Church of the East.[15]
Sliwa attended but was expelled from Brooklyn Prep,[16] a Jesuit high school, and graduated from Canarsie High School, a New York City public high school. Prior to founding the Guardian Angels, he was night manager of a McDonald's restaurant on Fordham Road in The Bronx.[17] His second wife, Lisa Evers, who co-hosted a WABC radio show called "Angels in the Morning", is now a television reporter and radio personality. Lisa, a professional martial arts expert was a member of the Worldwide Wrestling Federation.[citation needed] In 2004 Sliwa married, thirdly, to Mary Galda, a former WABC employee; they have a son, Anthony Chester Sliwa.
Curtis Sliwa at a Toronto gathering in July 2006Prostate cancer
On April 20, 2011, Sliwa announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010.[18]
References
- ^ Hester, Jere (1998-11-09). "EITHER RIGHT OR WRONG ANGELS ON PATROL, 1980". New York: Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1998/11/09/1998-11-09_either_right_or_wrong_angels.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "James Cunningham, Buffalo Police Commissioner, Dies"
- ^ Gonzales, David (1992-11-26). "Police Union to Sue Sliwa Over Hoaxes". New York Times. p. 13.1. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/26/nyregion/police-union-to-sue-sliwa-over-hoaxes.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Lambert, Bruce (1995-10-29). "Guardian Angels Lose Home Base on Restaurant Row". New York Times. p. 13.1. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/29/nyregion/neighborhood-report-west-side-guardian-angels-lose-home-base-on-restaurant-row.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/C/Crime%20and%20Criminals. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
- ^ Bennet, James (June 21, 1992). Koch Visits Sliwa as Investigation Fails to Yield Shooting Suspect. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/21/nyregion/koch-visits-sliwa-as-police-inquiry-fails-to-yield-shooting-suspect.html?scp=7&sq=sliwa,%20shooting&st=cse. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ Neumeister, Larry (September 28, 2006). 3rd Gotti Jr. Trial Ends in Mistrial. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092800169.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Feuer, Allan (2006-10-20). "No Fourth Trial for Gotti, Prosecutors Say". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/nyregion/21gotticnd.html?ex=1318996800&en=04d416f2aa29fcd4&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
- ^ Zambito, Thomas (November 14, 2006). "Mob Goon's 20 Yrs. Moves Sliwa to Tears". New York: The Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2006/11/14/2006-11-14_mob_goon_s_20_yrs__moves_sli.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Collins, Glenn (2006-17-17). "WNYC's Planned Move Will Finish Its Breakup With the City". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/17/nyregion/17radio.html?pagewanted=2&sq=wnyc,%20sliwa,%20lopate&st=cse&scp=3. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (1994-02-09). "City Radio Gives a Host's Job to Sliwa". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/09/nyregion/city-radio-gives-a-host-s-job-to-sliwa.html?scp=10&sq=sliwa,%20WNYC&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ Nossiter, Adam (1996-04-13). " "Gunman's Tale of Fear, Hatred and Drugs". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E6DE1139F930A25757C0A960958260&scp=11&sq=curtis+sliwa&st=nyt". Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ "Curtis, Kuby will go out with their heads held high". New York Daily News. 2007-11-28. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/11/28/2007-11-28_curtis__kuby_will_go_out_with_their_head.html.
- ^ "Curtis Sliwa is leaving WABC 770 AM". Daily News (New York). 2009-11-24. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/11/25/2009-11-25_curtis_sliwa_says_so_long_at_wabc.html.
- ^ "A big 'Apple' welcome for Sliwa". New York Daily News. December 7, 2009. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/12/07/2009-12-07_untitled__inn07tv.html.
- ^ The New York Times profile of Curtis Sliwa
- ^ Brooklyn's Favorite Crime-fighter, Curtis Sliwa, Is Honored by Local Politicians, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 6, 2008
- ^ "Curtis Sliwa, CEO and Founder". Guardian Angels. Archived from the original on 2007-09-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20070905050453/http://www.guardianangels.org/curtis.html. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
- ^ Curtis Sliwa Homepage
External links
- Biography on Guardian Angels' web site
- Sliwa's MySpace page
- 2008 Moment Of Thanks video of Sliwa thanking the Armed Forces
- Williams, Timothy (2006) Sliwa, a Gotti Antagonist, Is Called by the Defense This Time The New York Times, September 6th, 2006
- 2004 YouTube video of Sliwa introducing stickball to Cuba
Rollin' With Nick Cannon (WXRK-92.3) · Scott and Todd (WPLJ-95.5) · Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg (WQHT-97.1) · Elvis Duran and the Morning Show (WHTZ-100.3) · Tom Joyner Morning Show (WRKS-98.7) · Matt Pinfield and Leslie Fram (WEMP-101.9) · Cubby Bryant (WKTU-103.5) · DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God (WWPR-105.1) · The Steve Harvey Morning Show (WBLS-107.5) · Boomer and Carton in the Morning (WFAN-660) · The John Gambling Show (WOR-710) · Imus in the Morning (WABC-770) · Morning Edition (WNYC-820) · Curtis Sliwa (WNYM-970) · Mike and Mike in the Morning (WEPN-1050) · Errol Louis (WWRL-1600)Categories:- American activists
- Community organizing
- American competitive eaters
- American Roman Catholics
- American people of Polish descent
- American people of Assyrian descent
- American talk radio hosts
- American people of Italian descent
- People from Canarsie, Brooklyn
- American shooting survivors
- People with cancer
- 1954 births
- Living people
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