Ferry captain should testify

Staten Island Ferry Capt. Michael J. Gansas has refused to speak to the National Transportation Safety Board regarding his actions while at the helm of the ferry that crashed Oct. 15.

The man that may have been responsible for the deaths of 10 ferry riders, including two from Middletown, and the injuries of 70 others appeared before the board last week and invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.

The only thing Gansas told the board was his name and age, and that was after he failed to appear at several previous court hearings.

Gansas’ attorney Steven Sheinbaum said his client did not testify "with deep regret and a heavy heart on the advice of his counsel."

His attorney will not even say where Gansas lives.

Sheinbaum also said Gansas is upset, caring, giving and "always sacrificed himself."

If that is the case, invoking his Fifth Amendment right sure is a funny way to show you care or sacrifice yourself.

As a person who may be responsible for the ferry’s crash last month, it is Gansas’ job to tell the board everything he knows about the collision, whether or not he was at fault.

The families of those killed in the accident had to bury their loved ones and a number of passengers injured have had to deal with extensive injuries, including lost limbs.

Why is it that Gansas is holding the one thing hostage that the true victims of the crash are entitled to — the truth.

Is the board and the public supposed to buy his excuse that he has been so traumatized that he can’t speak about the incident?

His trauma certainly couldn’t be anywhere close to that of the amputee’s, or any of the other victims’.

It’s obvious that his silence is purely a legal ploy, probably to ensure that he is not found liable for the accident.This is not the act of a man who should be portrayed by his attorney as a great sacrificer. The victims are the people who have had to sacrifice throughout this whole ordeal because of his silence.