Hawthorne NJ, Shattered Lives is a feature documentary based on the book of the same name, co-authored by Jeff Ingber and Joe Connor, Frank Connor’s son, and it chronicles the origins of the Puerto Rican independence movement, its transformation into a Cuban-led Marxist cause and the FALN’s decade-long reign of murder and destruction. It also explores the hunt for the perpetrators by a group of dedicated FBI agents, and the inexplicable escape from prison by Willie Morales, the FALN’s chief bombmaker who eventually received asylum in Cuba, where he lives to this day. Finally, the film exposes the political maneuvering that led to Presidents Clinton and Obama granting clemency to FALN members through their attorney, Eric Holder, and the emotional damage it caused to the families of the victims.
Through extensive, exclusive interviews with survivors, family, and law enforcement officers, Shattered Lives describes the devastating impact of the Fraunces Tavern bombing on the Connor and Berger families and its many other victims, including NYPD officers, uniting them in their struggle to move forward while seeking justice for their loved ones.
