Service Tuesday for NYPD cop who worked at Ground Zero

New York City Police Officer David Mahmoud, 49, of Medford will be laid to rest Tuesday after succumbing to a rare nasal cancer that his colleagues say was caused by months working at the World Trade Center site.

"Tomorrow, we will bury yet another unsung hero . . . who like so many others, uniformed and civilian alike, answered the nation's call when America was attacked on September 11th," Patrick Lynch, president of the NYPD Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said Monday.

A 15-year veteran of the NYPD who served on the burglary apprehension team in the 75th Precinct in the East New York section of Brooklyn, Mahmoud died last Thursday. He had worked at Ground Zero for more than 60 hours, the PBA said. Several years ago, he was found to have squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal septum, which disfigured his nose and face, the PBA said.

Lynch canceled a trip to Washington, D.C. that had been scheduled for Tuesday, to lobby for passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to attend Mahmoud's funeral instead.

"He risked his life day in and day out and made the ultimate sacrifice," Lynch said. "It is time to recognize the debt . . . by passing the Zadroga bill."

The $7.4-billion bill, which would care for sick emergency responders and workers at Ground Zero and nearby residents, passed the House in September. It now goes to the Senate, which meets for only a few weeks before the start of the new Congress. If the Senate doesn't pass the bill, its backers must start all over again in the next Congress.

John Feal, founder of the FealGood Foundation, said three busloads of first responders would be leaving Tuesday for Washington to lobby for the bill. He echoed Lynch's call for its passage.

"Officer Mahmoud's death is more proof that the 9/11 community continues to lose heroic men and women," Feal said.

Colleagues described Mahmoud as a hardworking police officer and loving husband to his wife, Bessie Mercado, and father to his three daughters, Cynthia, 22, Ashley, 18, and Amber, 14.

NYPD Officer Ricky Giordano, who worked with him and had taken Mahmoud to several chemotherapy treatments, said he was struck by how positive Mahmoud remained and how devoted he was to his wife.

"No matter how banged up he was from chemo, he always held the door for his wife," he said.

John Giangrasso, PBA financial secretary for Brooklyn North, described Mahmoud as "a quiet person who loved being a police officer."

His funeral is to be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Francis De Sales Church in Patchogue. Burial is to follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.