Dec. 10, 2012 By Bill Parry
On Sunday December 16th, a fundraiser will be held for the family of Paul O’Shaughnessy at Sidetracks (45-08 Queens Blvd.) from noon until midnight.
O’Shaughnessy was a popular Sunnyside resident who took his own life in September at the age of 44. He left behind his wife, Susan, and four children ages 6-16.
On a Facebook page posted last week– called O’Shaughnessy Family Fund — the details of what drove Paul O’Shaugnessy to take his life were divulged publicly for the first time. The family-approved page states that he was in the midst of a depressive episode that was mishandled by police and hospital personnel.
The family also claims that O’Shaughnessy was improperly charged by police for felony weapons possession for holding a knife to his own throat. He was then kept away from his family and faced jail time, which drove him to hang himself. A lawsuit was filed last Friday against the NYPD, Elmhurst Hospital and EMS/FDNY.
A close friend of the family says that Susan, Paul’s wife of 20 years, had been very protective of the family’s right to privacy, but decided to go public because of persistent rumors.
Sunnyside’s Irish community has put together the Dec. 16 fundraiser, which will include live music, Irish dancers, raffles and auctions.
