Cantor Fitzgerald CEO to chronicle firm's struggle since Sept. 11; royalties to relief fund

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Howard Lutnick, chairman of the bond firm Cantor Fitzgerald will write a book about his firm's struggle after the deaths of more than 600 employees in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Lutnick said he will contribute all of his royalties to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, established on Sept. 14 to provide financial assistance to the families of Cantor Fitzgerald victims.

"This book will stand as a testament to my friends and partners who were lost on Sept. 11, and it will help provide financial support for their families," he said in a statement Monday issued by HarperCollins, which will publish his book in the second half of 2002.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The book, currently untitled, will be a collaboration between Lutnick and Thomas Barbash, a friend of Lutnick's who teaches creative writing at Stanford and San Francisco State University.

Lutnick, who lost a brother, Gary, in the attacks, was initially criticized for cutting off paychecks for the dead and missing. The firm has since paid $45 million in bonuses to missing employees and has pledged to provide families with health benefits for the next 10 years.

Cantor Fitzgerald, which had offices on the 101st, 103rd, 104th and 105th floors of the north tower, suffered the devastating loss of 657 of its nearly 1,000 employees in the attacks.

AP-WS-12-17-01 1227EST