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 brother,
Francis Castagna (“Jr”), who is forever 38. He was poisoned by fentanyl on December 7,
2022. My brother took his last breath in my grandmother’s house while he was there
helping with her new aide due to her declining health from dementia. That’s the kind of
person my brother was – a kind and gentle soul. My brother was the man of our family; he
was the glue. My family and I remain devastated, and our hearts will never be whole
again. We loved him beyond imagination. Jr was the kindest and most empathetic person
I have ever known.
Jr didn’t want to die. He fought hard and his fight was cut short at the hands of others.
Whether or not my brother or another person is suffering from the disease of addiction,
there is no chance. You either live or die. The fentanyl that is already here and circulating
in this state and country is killing our loved ones. The continuous flow into this country is
not slowing down.
Would you assist us in finding a permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall
within our Capitol? We have created two memorial walls: one with photos and one with
names. These digital walls and albums update automatically. We would also like the
photos displayed in hard copy format.
We would like our loved ones to be treated like victims. They were all victims of Purdue
Pharma (an American cartel) and many, many others. Now, they are victims of Chinese
and Mexican Cartels. We are using the word “drugism” for the prejudice toward drug
users – like racism.
A group of our New York ambassadors would love to meet with you and work together to
prevent this from ever happening again.
Sincerely,
Kimberly and Maryann Castagna, Jr’s Sister and Mother
Westchester, NY
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