Benefit To Be Held for Bell Widow
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Lieutenant Governor David Paterson and other state politicians are expected to attend a benefit this evening marking the birthday of Sean Bell, the bridegroom shot and killed by police in Queens following his bachelor party last fall.
Money raised will go to Bell’s fiancée, Paultre Bell, and their two children who could draw as much as $75,000 from the affair at the Meatpacking District restaurant, Gin Lane.
The restaurant advertises itself as a “decadent indulgence” on its Web site, and the event — Ms. Bell’s idea — is expected to be more celebratory than somber. There will be champagne donated by Moet & Chandon and a cake displaying a photo of Bell, his fiancée, and their daughters.
Mr. Bell died after police fired 50 shots into a car he was riding in with friends after the group had exited a strip club. The trial of three detectives charged in the shooting resumes in September.
The Reverend Al Sharpton, who helped organize the event, said, “It is our mission to help assure that the children are taken care of in their time of need.”
