Since I do not believe that God or the Angel Gabriel spoke to Anthony Maurino, what Maurino wrote was his mind at work for no good purpose. It appears to me that by placing words in God's and Gabriel's mouths, which, to date, have not been proven to be fact, Maurino has displayed arrogance and a lack of ethics. It is obvious that Tony Maurino, Glen Cove Building Department director, does not care whether something is merely "story" or fact, "verified to an historical certainty."

In August when I first read about the Regina Maris and her "supposed" connection to the rescue of Jews from Germany and Denmark during WWII, I asked one question. "Where is the proof?" Newspaper reporters and TV news reporters were stating the connection as "fact." None of them asked for proof. I began my research at that time. I am still investigating. I recently returned from a trip to Sweden, where I spent 10 days with the families of the men who owned and captained the ship for a total of 31 years. (Captain Edvardsson¬1932-1860¬ and Captain Thuvik¬1960-1963). My trip was authorized by Tom Suozzi, in his position as chairman of Save The Regina Maris Ltd., and paid for by that organization. Tom authorized my trip because he understands the need for verification. My trip had two purposes. Primarily, I was trying to verify the use of Regina by Captain Edvardsson in the rescue of Jews. Secondarily, I was to collect documents, pictures, maps and stories related to the life of Regina, when her home port was Skarhamn. I was able to do the latter. However, the Jewish connection is still not verified.

The research continues, frequently with the help of experts I have connected with. Three of those people are highly regarded in this field of history. Two of them live in Denmark. They are the foremost experts on the ships and boats used in the rescue of the Jews of Denmark, in October 1943. One of the experts lives and works in NYC. He is responsible for finding and "verifying to an historical certainty" the rescue ship that is on permanent display at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. It is to this man that I am most often referred no matter to whom I am speaking. It is a privilege to have these men working on behalf of the Regina Maris. I have spoken with, emailed and faxed to people at Holocaust Center, libraries, private and government agencies and organizations in Sweden, Denmark, Israel and across the United States . This research project is a serious effort that will continue until I have managed to verify the Jewish connection of the Regina to an "historical certainty" or until there is nothing left to do that will give us that verification.

Anthony Maurino's flapping lips; his perpetuation of stories that he knows have not been verified, serves no purpose. It does not help in the restoration of the Regina Maris. This ship is 90 years old. She has had an exciting and varied life. Even without the verification of the Jewish connection, she deserves to be restored. She deserves to sail again. I would suggest that Tony Maurino's letter was unethical and in serious poor taste and that he should refrain from promoting "stories" as "fact"!

Janet Blatt