Seaford Native, Who Died In 9/11, Was Weeks From Getting Married

SEAFORD, NY — Cantor Fitzgerald is a financial services firm, which had its corporate headquarters between the 101st and 105th floors in the World Trade Center's North Tower, the site of the first plane strike into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The NYPD lost 23 members, and 343 firefighters or paramedics perished on 9/11. By contrast, 658 Cantor employees were killed in the country's worst terrorist attack.

Two of those 658 people were from Seaford.

Rob Sliwak, who was 42, was a 1977 graduate of Seaford High School. He was co-captain of the 1976 championship football team. "Sli," as he was known to friends, was good enough on the gridiron that he earned a scholarship to college.

"He did call his wife that morning," Sliwak's sister Lucille Ficara told Patch. "He said there was an explosion. They were trying to get out and that was it. She never heard from him again."

Ficara recalls her brother as "the kind of person you just enjoyed being with. His biggest fault was he hated confrontation."

Sliwak, who moved to Wantagh when he got married, kept a strong connection to his high school, often going to the football games.

He was married for nine years and had twins, who were 3 years old at the time, and a son who turned eight on Sept. 15, 2001.

"That's what he left behind," Ficara told Patch.

Ficara hoped he took the children to school that Tuesday morning and missed the carnage, but as the hours went by, "seeing what happened, you kind of knew," she recalled.

A memorial service was ultimately held without Sliwak's body or remains, which were never found.

But her memories remain for a lifetime. Ficara was close to Sliwak, seeing him all the time.

"It was an incredible loss. It was devastating," she said.

Although time has allowed some space since the horrors of 9/11, the anniversary remains a solemn event for Ficara, likely a trigger back to those images and aftermath.

"I get this anxious feeling always around it," Ficara said. "The anticipation of the day, I guess, because it's so public."

Another Cantor Fitzgerald bond trader and Seaford alum, Michael Wittenstein, was killed on 9/11. He was 34 years old. The 1985 Seaford High School graduate, who was also above the crash zone, called his father to get perspective from the outside world. Wittenstein relayed that he was leaving the building. It would be the last contact anyone would have with him.

"[We] had nothing to bury Michael with," his mother, Barbara Wittenstein, told Patch.

They did put a New York Jets football in a little coffin as a symbol of one of his favorite teams, plus they added letters from schoolchildren.

"The only thing I got out of this whole thing was his ID card from Cantor Fitzgerald that they found at the Staten Island dump," Wittenstein said. "I don't know how they found it, but I've got it here."

While linking that photo identification to her son's past, recollections flooded her mind. Wittenstein recalled Michael's love of game shows and how he would gather each Thanksgiving at Cedar Creek Park to play football with kids from the high school.

Holding her memories tight, Wittenstein also can hold tight of a pair of nephews, since named in honor of Michael.

Michael was ready to start his new life with his wife. They were due to get married just weeks after 9/11.

"The day of his wedding, I think was worse," she said. "My brother and sister-in-law came in from Israel and we just went away for the day. It was a very sad day."