Retired police officer raises $7,000 for St. Jude Children's Hospital

Greenwood Lake - On Saturday, Nov. 14, Frank Gaudiello, a former mounted New York City Police Officer, saddled up Zeus, his retired police horse, to begin a lengthy ride from Greenwood Lake to Monroe. This was Gaudiello’s third annual ride to raise money by collecting checks and pledges of donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. And if everyone honors those pledges, he will have raised approximately $7,000, a record for the event. Typically, “Saddle Up for St. Jude,” the hospital’s volunteer-based, fund-raising event, consists of a trail ride but Gaudiello held his two previous events as a lone rider yielding almost $10,000 in contributions for the hospital. In 2007 he rode his horse from a farm on Ryerson Road, through the Village of Warwick and then on to St. Anthony Community Hospital. Last November he repeated the event by riding, sometimes in heavy rain, from Greenwood Lake to Monroe. His hope, as a lone rider, is not only raising money but also raising awareness for the research that St. Jude Children’s Hospital does relating to childhood diseases. According to the hospital’s literature, discoveries made at St. Jude have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases and no child is turned away because of inability to pay. Gaudiello also dedicated this year’s ride to his longtime friend and security services associate Louis J. Crisa, Jr. who passed away in October. The two had often shared security details for numerous well-known celebrities like actor Al Pacino and entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Gaudiello, who lives in Greenwood Lake with his wife, Rosalie, was born and raised in Brooklyn. His love for horses as a youngster eventually led him to join the New York City Police Mounted Unit. During the Vietnam War Gaudiello earned a Purple Heart when he was wounded while exchanging fire with the enemy from a helicopter. And two years ago he became a cancer survivor after having half a lung removed. Gaudiello felt that riding his horse would provide the necessary exercise to help him recover from the operation but he also vowed that in the future he and “Zeus” would make a difference in the world by helping to promote and raise funds for worthy charities.

You can help
To make a donation call Frank Gaudiello at: 477-3040 or 917-678-2007, or mail your check made out to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to Frank Gaudiello, 29 Sheperd Ave., Greenwood Lake, NY.
Checks can also be mailed to: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105
The memo section on the check must include the Event Code: FKO00570D101