Families Angry About Waiving Right to Sue
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Some family members of September 11 victims say the government's compensation program is not enough. They spoke out last night at a town hall meeting in New York. In particular, many families are angry that they have to waive their right to sue the airlines. The man overseeing the fund, Kenneth Feinberg, said the program is fair, but can be made better. A lot of people spent money on commemorative items in the wake of September 11th, but how much of this money is actually going to the charities? CNN's Deborah Feyerick takes a look at who is really profiting from these proceeds.</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There were a lot of things for sale following the September 11th tragedies. There are T-shirts and hats, posters and pins. But where is all the money going? Well, maybe not to charity, as you might think. For example, take these sneakers. They've got an American flag no the side and they cost about 50 bucks. They were created by designer Steve Madden. He's got a store here in Soho. You go to Madden's Web site and it says he teamed up with actor Dennis Leary, who has a firefighters' charity. Well, as first reported in "The New York Times," since the disaster, some 35,000 pairs have sold. It wasn't until January 15th that the deal between Steve Madden and Leary was formalized. If you thought all $50 was going to charity, you'd be wrong. It was only 10 percent of all profits donated. The company said Steve wanted to do this for all the right reasons. There was no motivation to capitalize on this tragedy. The company says it has given $100,000 so far, and has yet to make back that amount.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would be more inclined to buy a product that is donating to one that is not donating.</s>FEYERICK: Then there's this book, called "Brotherhood." It sold at places like Barnes & Noble. On the inside there are pictures of different fire houses. On the outside there's sticker that says "All profits donated to FDNY charities." Well, that's not really true. You see, you can buy this book for $30. American Express, which publishes it, is donating all its profits to charity. However, that's only after the actual bookstores take their cut.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's something I really needed or wanted, and then I felt like maybe some of the money was going to benefit somebody, then I would probably do it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of times only like 8 percent of the profit goes towards something. And my main reason for buying it is for my proceeds to go to that certain organization.</s>FEYERICK: The concert at Madison Square Garden gave police and firefighters a chance to forget for a couple of hours. If you want to buy the CD, you can. And all the proceeds will go to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund. That deal was cut before the CDs ever reached the shelves. That's not the case with other CDs, where it's still unclear exactly how much of the profits will actually go to charity. The New York state attorney general says if you want to by a CD, buy a CD. But if you want to give to charity, you better write a check for that charity. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.