Vincent D'Onofrio to headline police fundraiser

Salt Lake Tribune, 9.9.09
by Nate Carlisle

TV cop raising money for real Utah cops

Actor Vincent D'Onofrio, of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and the film "Men in Black," will headline a fundraiser to help Utah police who say methamphetamine sickened them.

The fundraiser will be Sept. 18, said Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, and is expected to raise money for detoxification treatments for the officers. Murphy said Shurtleff will attend, but other details were not available Wednesday.

A number of former or current Utah police officers claim methamphetamine labs or exposure to the finished drug left them with cancers, neurological problems and other assorted ailments. A few dozen have undergone the detoxification treatment, which utilizes a regimen of exercise and a diet of antioxidants.

Science has yet to support the officers' claims of poisoning by methamphetamine or that the detoxification treatment is effective.

D'Onofrio's sister and brother-in-law opened a Rib City franchise in Sandy in 2007 and later another franchise in American Fork. The Sandy restaurant closed earlier this year. Last year, D'Onofrio held fund raisers at both restaurants to raise money for such police causes as "Shop With a Cop" and a memorial for officers killed in the line of duty.