By Alex Davidson
A jury convicted an Ozone Park man last Thursday of fabricating the death of a non-existent child in the World Trade Center attack and then wrongfully taking $190,000 from charities helping families of Sept. 11 victims, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA said.
Cyril Kendall, 54, of 107-18 123rd St., was convicted in State Supreme Court in Manhattan of accepting money from the Red Cross and Safe Horizons charities for grief counseling and other costs brought about when his make-believe 13th child, Wilfred, died while in Tower 1 on Sept. 11, 2001, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney.
State Supreme Court Judge Ronald Zweibel will sentence Kendall Sept. 16, Thompson said.
Kendall was convicted of grand larceny, possession of forged instruments and falsifying business records in a case that stems back to March 2002, where he, along with several others, was accused of making false claims to get money from World Trade Center relief agencies. He falsely filed for a death certificate by alleging his son died when Tower 1 collapsed, the DA said.
Thompson said Kendall could receive a maximum of 15 years in prison for his grand larceny conviction. She said, however, that Kendall's total jail time will be finalized after Zweibel decides whether to link or separate the charges against him.
Three of Kendall's 12 children testified on behalf of their father and said Wilfred did exist. Thompson said no perjury charges will be filed against the trio.
Kendall was arrested in 1986 and subsequently found guilty in the third-degree rape of his daughter, a spokeswoman at the Queens district attorney's office said. He was sentenced to four months in prison and received five years' probation.
Kendall, who pleaded not guilty in that case, claimed he accompanied his son for a job interview on the day of the World Trade Center attacks, the Manhattan district attorney's office said. Kendall lives with his wife, Doreen, at their Ozone Park home, neighbors said.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
