Artist turns vandalism into a positive lesson Stone carver wants area children to see what goes into project BY PATRICIA YOCZIS Correspondent FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Franco Minervini, a local stone carver, is happy to report that vandalism that defaced a Sept. 11 memorial can be repaired and the memorial can be installed without additional delay at the PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel. The Sept. 11 memorial Minervini has created was commissioned by the National Police Defense Foundation (NPDF). During the evening of April 12, the part of the memorial that features a uniformed police officer standing at attention was damaged while it was outside Minervini's studio on Weaverville Road, off Kozloski Road. The police officer's face and the visor of his cap were damaged. "It will take a couple of weeks to fix the damage," said Minervini, whose studio has been on Weaverville Road for 30 years. "The vandalism will not delay the scheduled installation that is planned for the 2008 anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack." Minervini said the vandalism was a terrible act especially since the memorial honors Port Authority Police Department police officers, a Port Authority Police Department police dog and New York Police Department officers who were killed in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001. Personally, he is very distressed that five years of his artwork was attacked, but he wants to create something positive from the experience. "I think it was a kid or kids who picked up a rock and struck at the stone police officer," said Minervini, who is a resident of Marlboro. "I don't want to believe it was a malicious or an evil act - only a great lack of respect for the memorial and the work that made it." To increase respect for the memorial and what is involved to create it, he is extending an invitation to neighborhood children and parents to arrange a visit to his studio and see the memorial. "I'm preparing a flier and I will distribute it in a nearby mini-mall," said Minervini, whose Web site is www.francominervini. com. "I will ask the children who frequent the mini-mall to read the invitation on the flier and pass it along to their friends who live in the neighboring developments. My aim is that this vandalism never happens again." While Minervini is upset about the vandalism to the memorial, he is equally upset about one response to an article that was published in a northern New Jersey newspaper about the memorial's damage. He said the letter was relayed to him and suggests the possibility that he himself damaged the memorial. "I am baffled that anyone could imagine an artist would do that to his own work," said Minervini, who was born in Molfetta, Italy. "Pride and passion go into my art and it is not possible to sabotage it. There is no insurance claim. It's my work and I am the only one who will fix it. This letter hurts more than the damage that was done" to the memorial. The artist hopes the public invitation to visit his studio will prevent future damage to the memorial, but offered cautionary advice. "Even if it was a prank, someone must suffer the consequences and learn not to harm another's work," said Minervini. The NPDF is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the vandalism to its memorial. To reach the NPDF call (732) 617-2330. To report any information about the vandalism to the Sept.11 memorial call the Freehold Township Police Department at (732) 462-7500.