Survivors, kin of victims of Fraunces Tavern bombing by FALN in 1975 still seeking justice

Rocco Parascandola and Leonard Greene, New York Daily News on Jan 24, 2025

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NEW YORK — Fifty years after Puerto Rican terrorist group FALN bombed the historic watering hole Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan’s Financial District, a son of one of the four victims killed in the deadly attack is still seeking justice.

Joseph Connor is urging the new Trump administration to put pressure on the Cuban government to release the suspected bomber accused of planting the explosive that killed four people in 1975, including Connor’s father, Frank.

Connor, survivors and law enforcement officials are specifically seeking the extradition of FALN member William “Guillermo” Morales, who has been given political asylum in Cuba. They will gather on Friday outside the tavern to commemorate the attack and renew their call for justice.

“It’s exhausting and I’m getting old for this but I want to find justice,” Connor, 59, told the Daily News on Thursday.

“It’s at the point now where I have less animosity toward the terrorists than the politicians, who used my father’s life for political gain. The terrorists didn’t promise me anything. The politicians did. They said they were going to fight for this, but they were just using my father for political gain.”

Connor’s emotional plea came on the eve of Friday’s 50th anniversary of the attack during which the Puerto Rican nationalist group Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional, or FALN, bombed the historic tavern.

Though no one was ever charged in the attack, FALN, which planted more than 100 bombs in New York City and Chicago during the 1970s and ’80s, proudly claimed responsibility.

The victims included Frank Conner, 33, a banker; Harold Sherburne, 66, a businessman; James Gezork, 32, an executive visiting from Wilmington, Del.; and Alejandro Berger, 28, a chemical company executive from Philadelphia.

The lunchtime blast also injured about 50 people. Some of the survivors lost legs, fingers, and eyes.

The bomb exploded at 1:29 p.m. as scores of patrons were enjoying lunch in the tavern and the club on the floor above it.

Young Joseph Connor had celebrated his ninth birthday just three days before the bombing. He said he was playing outside with his friends when his mother called him in to deliver the crushing news.

“We just got home from school,” Connor said. “We went outside to play. The bombing had already happened, but news didn’t travel as quickly then. My mom called my father at work and someone picked up. She thought it was my father but it was someone else.

“We knew there was an explosion but we didn’t know if he was alive or dead. I remember thinking he was under the rubble and hoping a firefighter was going to rescue him.”

Officials said the tavern was likely targeted because of its proximity to Wall Street and because of its colonial past which dates back to the days of George Washington. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.