Overview
- The FDNY and relatives said Riches died on Thanksgiving from a World Trade Center–related illness.
- Riches served 30 years in the department from 1977 to 2007, rising to deputy chief.
- He spent months at the World Trade Center site searching for his firefighter son, whose remains were recovered in March 2002.
- After retiring, he became a prominent advocate for 9/11 families and ailing responders, including public testimony and organizational leadership.
- Visitation is scheduled Sunday in Brooklyn with a funeral Mass Monday at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, and he is survived by his wife, Rita, and their children.