Port Salerno man gets FEMA check for 58 cents
By Chris Butler
staff writer
PORT SALERNO–Port Salerno resident Joe Massaro hasn’t
had much to laugh about lately.
When hurricanes Jeanne and Frances ripped through his
Martin County home, he had to deal with extensive
damage.
Last week, help finally arrived–or so Mr. Massaro
thought–in the form of a letter addressed from FEMA.
For his personal home repair expenses, FEMA sent Mr.
Massaro a check in the amount of 58 cents, slightly
more than it cost FEMA to mail the envelope.
Mr. Massaro sat on his front lawn and laughed.
“Any laughter on my part was borne out of frustration
more than anything else,” Mr. Massaro said.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but I was certainly
expecting more than 58 cents,” he added.
Mr. Massaro verified the amount with FEMA last week,
just to make certain it was not a mistake.
“Even they didn’t know where that number came from.
It’s almost like someone pulled it out of the air,”
Mr. Massaro said.
Mr. Massaro said he’s angry, but his irritation stems
more from what he perceives as an imbalance in federal
assistance..
After all, of the four hurricanes that made landfall
in the state of Florida, none hit Miami-Dade County.
Yet, that area is the recipient of more than $20
million in FEMA assistance.
Mr. Massaro says that upsets him more than the 58
cents he got from FEMA.
“It’s safe to say that Martin County, where the people
needed it more, just didn’t get that much,” he said.
Mr. Massaro has expressed his displeasure with local
representatives, including Martin County Commissioner
Michael DiTerlizzi, State Sen. Ken Pruitt and U.S.
Rep. Mark Foley.
“It wasn’t that I was embarrassed or just plain
outraged about what happened to me. I’d rather have
been denied the money,”Mr. Massaro said.
He said he knows many of his neighbors in Martin
County need FEMA assistance more than he does,
including those whose mobile homes were destroyed.
His efforts to stand up on Martin County’s behalf, he
said, haven’t gone unnoticed.
“I walked into the bank the other day, and everyone
gave me a standing ovation,” he said.
“And it wasn’t because of the 58 cents. It was because
someone finally decided to put their foot down.”
The 58-cent check, meanwhile, has caught the interest
of many people.
A West Palm Beach man offered him $500 for the check,
but Mr. Massaro declined.
Mr. Massaro said he has no plans to cash the check.
He says 58 cents isn’t worth the effort.
Instead, Mr. Massaro says he will frame the check and
hang it on his wall as a reminder of what happened.