Anthony Hanlon, retired NYPD officer, dies from 9/11-related illness at 49

Some 17 years after he served at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 attacks, retired NYPD officer Anthony Hanlon died Oct. 21, joining the increasing ranks of public servants who have succumbed to 9/11-related cancer.

Hanlon, who grew up in Merrick, died a day before his 50th birthday of multiple myeloma, said his brother, Ted Hanlon of Amityville. He had been eager to help after the attacks in New York City that leveled both World Trade Center towers, said friends and family. He performed search and rescue duties.

"I remember him working day in and day out," said childhood friend Edward Connelly, 50, of Patchogue. "He just wanted to be there."

From a kid in Merrick who lettered in high school basketball to an NYPD officer with a knack for turning around troubled youth, Hanlon left behind a legacy of excellence and service to the community.

He served as the youth officer and auxiliary coordinator  in the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn, mentoring several young people who went on to become NYPD officers.

His mother, Edythe Hanlon of Merrick, said that during the wake for her son, a man approached friends and family to pay respects.

"He said, 'I used to be a street kid, and then I met Anthony, and now I'm a cop,' " she said.

NYPD Deputy Inspector John Buttacavoli, commanding officer of the 77th Precinct, called Hanlon "a cop's cop . . . a partner, a brother, a friend."

Edythe Hanlon added: "He was a really good son. He always took care of me."

Born in Flushing, Hanlon moved with his family to Merrick as a boy, coming of age amid the music, video games and other trends of the 1980s. Connelly, his friend since they were 12, recalled the two of them and friends taking the bus down Merrick Avenue to the Sunrise Mall to play video game machines such as Pac Man, Asteroids and Space Invaders.

Hanlon loved music so much he would obsess on a new favorite song, playing it over and over again. He did that with songs like "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" by the group Human League.

"He would play a song 700 times, until you hated the song," Connelly said.

After graduating from Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, and attending Penn State Brandywine in Pennsylvania, Hanlon followed his brother Ted into the New York City police force. He eventually became a canine officer with a German shepherd named Vegas, a reference to Hanlon's love of casinos.

Hanlon retired from the police force about eight years ago after 21 years of service, and  pursued a career in acting. He landed jobs as an extra on shows such as "Blue Bloods." Fittingly, he often portrayed a cop, said his fiancee, Sheila Bernales.

"He loved it," she said. "He was so excited; he would talk about it all the time."

The couple moved to Forks Township, Pennsylvania, about eight years ago.

Early last year, Hanlon had what he thought was a prolonged  bout with the flu, which eventually was diagnosed as cancer, Connelly said.

"Tony fought a long and courageous battle against 9/11-related cancer; a battle that many officers have fought in the years since that attack on our country," said Buttacavoli of the 77th Precinct.

The NYPD said 156 officers  had died of 9/11-related illnesses as of 2017, the latest figures available. 

 A funeral was held Oct. 26.

Survivors include his brother, Ted; a sister, Jennifer Hanlon of North Port, Florida; Bernales and her daughter, Angelica Balili  of Forks Township.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.