Preparing for the Unthinkable

This is a partial transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," July 19, 2004, that was edited for clarity.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Intelligence czar (search) or no, New York City police are busily thinking the unthinkable for the Republican convention there next month, including Madison Square Garden itself collapsing?

With us now is Lawrence Loesch. He’s a 30-year veteran of the New York City Police Department and vice president of Allied Security. When he’s in the area, no one dare speeds around here.

But, anyway, good to have you, Lawrence.

LAWRENCE LOESCH, VICE PRESIDENT, ALLIED SECURITY: Good afternoon, Neil.

CAVUTO: How likely is it a disaster of any sort at the Republican convention, first of all?

LOESCH: Well, we just had Mr. Gergen on the line, too. I mean, the war on terrorism was what he talks about.

In the past, all we had to be concerned with with something like the RNC is demonstrations and that they were treated and handled appropriately. Now with the war on terrorism, there is another thing to think about, and these things can come to New York, as we hear all the time.

CAVUTO: Would the terrorists be more inclined to hit, if they were so inclined, to hit the Democratic or Republican events? It would be the Republican convention, wouldn’t it?

LOESCH: Well, Neil, I’m not sure which one they would hit first, if they wanted to hit either or both of them. It can happen anywhere, and I imagine it can happen anywhere. And New York is a place that it can definitely happen.

CAVUTO: But now Madison Square Garden (search), that compound in and around Penn Station, a very busy thoroughfare, certainly, in Manhattan. How hittable is that?

LOESCH: Neil, with the steps that are being taken, I’m comfortable the steps that are being taken by the New York City Police Department, Ray Kelly and his team, Chief McManus running this operation and the MTA is Chief Wallace, that the comfort levels of New Yorkers should be very high.

CAVUTO: Nevertheless, you have reports like in New York Newsday and some of these other papers that claim that there are even disaster plans afoot that tend to look at the possibility of Madison Square Garden collapsing. I mean, how much of this gets a little over the top?

LOESCH: I think a good deal of it does. I mean, what you have to think about is the unthinkable, and prepare for whatever you can prepare for, within reason. There will be a lot of money spent on technology, on personnel, not only by local government, by local companies, corporations with their private security.

CAVUTO: But when you heard the Newsday report about planning for a doomsday collapse, something like that, did you just shake your head or what?

LOESCH: Well, I did. I actually did, but I was in 1993, I was there, and thought they could never take down the towers, and they did, you know, in 2001.

CAVUTO: So it’s something we always have to be prepared for, just in case.

LOESCH: That’s correct.

CAVUTO: All right. Lawrence Loesch, thank you very much. Allied Security

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