Local man holding benefit for fallen fellow cop

An NYPD officer from Valley Stream has organized a fundraiser for the family of fallen NYPD officer Brian Moore. It will be held on Friday night at a bar in Rockville Centre.

Vincenzo Rallo, 29, organized the event with his friend, Jeffrey Ford. They had heard about an event benefiting the families of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were murdered in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in December. Rallo, an officer in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood who has been on the force for two and a half years, said the killing of Moore, a 25-year-old Massapequa resident, hit especially close to home.

“Going through the job, you brush a lot of things off,” said Rallo, who attended Moore’s wake with several coworkers and spoke with colleagues there who had known the young officer. “Seeing something like this, it makes everything real again.”

Moore died after he was shot on May 2 in Queens.

Rallo lost his father to cancer last year, leaving him the man of the house with his mother and sister. He saw them crying at the news of Moore’s death and felt a personal connection, he said. His mother, Rosemarie Gambino, noticed.

“When this happened, he took it to heart,” she said.

Rallo talked to Ford about what they could do, and got support from the Police Benevolent Association and soon they were soliciting businesses for donations. Many of those they approached were in Rockville Centre, a place Rallo said is known for its support of people in law enforcement. He said that no business he approached failed to donate something.

The event will take place at Parlay Gastropub on Merrick Road in Rockville Centre. It will feature a Chinese auction with prizes of varying value, including a trip to Las Vegas donated by Parlay’s, a first edition script of Boardwalk Empire signed by Martin Scorsese and Steve Buscemi from Ford’s personal collection, a signed Joe Namath jersey, Yankees and Mets tickets, free car detailing, limo rides and rounds of golf at Trump golf courses, and a host of other prizes.

The event will run from 9 p.m. to midnight. For more information, or to make a donation, email psulionpride@me.com.