Robert Keiley (William Miller)
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An ad for a controversial law firm specializing in 9/11 lawsuits shows a somber, soot-smeared FDNY firefighter holding an image of the charred remains of the World Trade Center under the headline “I was there.”
The problem is, he wasn’t.
Firefighter Robert Keiley — who joined New York’s Bravest only in 2004 — was working as a model when he posed for what he thought would be used for a run-of-the-mill fire-prevention ad.
He appeared in generic firefighter gear and gripped a helmet for the shot — not the photo of the destroyed Twin Towers that was “put” into his hands with Photoshop software for the Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern ad.
“It’s an insult to the Fire Department. It’s an insult to all the families who lost people that day,” said Keiley, 34, an ex-cop who now works out of an engine company in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
“It makes me look like I’m cashing in on 9/11, saying I was there even though I was never there, and that I’m sick and possibly suing, trying to get a chunk of money.”
WTC-disaster law firm Worby Groner raised eyebrows in May when news surfaced that its lawyers were ready to take home a third or more of a settlement negotiated on behalf of sickened Ground Zero workers.
An angry federal judge said the arrangement gave too much money to the legal team and too little to sick workers — and the firm reduced its fees.
Keiley said that in one of his most painful moments since the ad surfaced, he had to call his best friend, whose brother died in 9/11, to tell him he had nothing to do with it.
“I had friends who died on 9/11,” Keiley said. “How can I look their families in the eye if they see this picture, thinking I’m trying to make money on their [loved ones’] deaths? They’d probably think I’m a scumbag.”
The Photoshopped image debuted Wednesday on a flier at the World Police Fire Games Event Gala, a fund-raiser for the annual sporting event.
At the bottom, in tiny letters, the ad stated, “This is an actor portrayal of a potential Zadroga claimant,” referring to sick 9/11 workers who could receive aid under the federal James Zadroga Act.
Keiley, who moonlights as an actor and model, posed for the photo a year ago and netted $350.
He said he’s now considering a lawsuit.
“It creates the image that he’s claiming to have been at a tragic event when he was not,” said his lawyer, Keith Sullivan.
“More offensive is [the claim] that he’s trying to collect money from this fund, which he absolutely has no intention of doing.”
Worby Groner directed all calls to the ad agency, Barker/DZP.
A rep insisted the agency was well within its rights to use the image because Keiley signed a release.
“He really signed his rights away,” said Kim Tracey, an account director at the agency. “[The release] allows for use in ads, promotional usage, really anything you want.”
But John Feal, a tireless advocate for Ground Zero rescue workers, said that even a decade after 9/11, the images of that day are provocative.
“Maybe the ad agency should change the way they practice their business,” he said.
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram and Cathy Burke