USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear Governor Kathy Hochul,
I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Walls. I lost my beautiful son, Joey,
who is forever 30. He was poisoned by fentanyl. He passed on October 16, 2019. He met
someone that day who supplied him with a lethal dose of fentanyl. My son had no idea
what he was using. Clearly from the text message the dealer knew it was dangerous.
Joey overdosed in his room, and I administered Narcan, but it did not work due to the
amount of fentanyl he had been given. He died in my arms.
Joey’s life was full of promise. As a little boy he was wise beyond his years. Kind and
compassionate. He was an athlete who excelled in baseball and hockey. He was bright
and given a college scholarship to Iona College in New Rochelle. He started taking pills
while working a part-time job in college. His co-worker gave him some pills and said they
would take away any hangovers. He was immediately hooked. He was 20 and I thought
out of the “trouble age” as he had gotten through those tough years of Junior High and
High School.
This loss has broken our family. He leaves behind his only sibling, Nicholas, who now has
to go through life without his older brother. Despite his addiction, they had a loving and
close relationship. My husband and I are forever broken and will never be the same. What
is happening to our world? What is happening to our youth? This is a journey that no
family should be on. We have to act now!! This is a crisis!
I want to be my son’s voice because he did not die in vain. We must honor these beautiful
faces whose lives were cut short by this deadly drug epidemic. I know you have children
and can understand. Would you please assist us in finding a permanent location for a
Drug Epidemic Memorial wall within our Capitol? We have already created two Memorial
Walls: one with photos and one with names. I am including Joey’s frame. These digital
walls and albums update automatically. We would also like the photos displayed in hard
copy format. The wall of names can be projected on a wall so parents can touch theirs
loved one’s name. We would like our loved ones to be treated like victims. They were all
victims of Purdue Pharma and many, many others. Now they are victims of the Chinese
and Mexican Cartels.
Please, Governor Hochul, hear our pleas for help in New York State. A group of our NY
moms would love to meet with you and work together to prevent this from happening to
other families. I thank you for taking the time to read this and look forward to perhaps
meeting with you and your team.
Respectfully yours,
Josephine Bucciero (Joey’s mom)
The Bronx, NY
645