Thomas Mingione, Lad.132 About Thomas Mingione Thomas Mingione, 34, of West Islip was a police officer turned firefighter from Ladder 132 in Brooklyn. He was in the south tower when it collapsed. His remains were never recovered. Jennifer Mingione, a physician in West Islip, was married to Thomas Mingione for less than 18 months and expecting their first child when he died. She gave birth to a daughter, Amanda, that December. “He was a terrific guy, he was loving, just a good-hearted guy,” she said. Losing him, she said, is “like an open wound for me … It’s still very, very hard to talk about.” Thomas Mingione graduated from North Babylon High School in 1985 and joined the NYPD shortly after turning 20 in 1987. In 1992, he left to become a firefighter. Since 9/11, his family has donated about $30,000 to the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation in his name, his wife said. Her in-laws now live in Florida but she still lives near his brothers in West Islip. He was the youngest of four boys, and his next older brother, Richard, 46, said the aftermath of Thomas’ death was difficult for the whole family. Richard Mingione was his brother’s best man, and vice versa. They were frequent golf partners. The last time they played was Sept. 5, 2001, when they shared laughs over Richard Mingione finally breaking down and buying a pair of golf shoes. “He loved his family and his friends, in that order,” said Mingione. “I’ve had dreams where I’ve seen him and he didn’t know who I was,” he said. “I’d say, ‘Tom, it’s me. Let’s go home’ … The pain, the way I say it is I’ll never get over it but I’m just trying to get through it.” “I memorialize him down at Overlook Beach,” he said. “I mean, where do you go? He just vanished.” – Carol Polsky
