Medical supplier says FEMA seized 400K N95 masks, has them 'just sitting on a loading dock at JFK'

Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)

NEW YORK -- A medical supply company in Delaware is questioning the legality of federal seizures of N95 respirator masks destined for medical workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

George Gianforcaro, owner of Delaware-based Indutex USA, told the New York Daily News that the Federal Emergency Management Agency confiscated 400,000 masks in two imported shipments meant for his U.S. customers.

He said the masks, which arrived in separate shipments on April 6 and April 19, are still being held at John F. Kennedy International Airport, apparently stranded in limbo as federal officials work out where they should go next.

"The product is just sitting on a loading dock at JFK. They want to charge me $3,000 a day to store it there. I said, 'I'll just come pick it up then.' They said, 'No, it's not released.' It's un-American. It's horrible," Gianforcaro told The News.

"I'm frustrated. I'm shocked. I'm angry. It's really, really upsetting," he said in a phone interview Tuesday evening. "Here I'm trying to help. I talked to FEMA and offered to be their logistics arm. I said, 'If you call and say Mount Sinai need masks, and you give me an order by 3 p.m., I'll ship it by 5 p.m. I'm volunteering my time as an American. But it's just sitting there. God knows what's happening."

Gianforcaro said he provided his customer list to federal officials along with his pricing and shipment details before the second seizure.

Once he got a lawyer involved, FEMA finally sent him something in writing, explaining his equipment was being held under the authority of the Defense Production Act.

He said his customers include nursing facilities, police departments and the state of Michigan.

In an emailed statement, FEMA reportedly told the Delaware News Journal that reports of the agency commandeering or rerouting supplies were "false."

Such in-demand equipment "being distributed internally within the United States is not being seized," FEMA reportedly said.

Gianforcaro, meanwhile, shared a written order with the newspaper in which FEMA directed Indutex to sell to the federal government "all filtering facepiece respirators, including the N95 respirators contained within shipment number 8994645378 that arrived at JFK Airport" on April 6.

The FEMA document also ordered Indutex to "set aside" all N95 or surgical masks that it acquires during the coronavirus emergency for a potential sale to FEMA.

It said the masks would be sent to the Strategic National Stockpile.

FEMA did not respond to follow-up questions about the paperwork, the newspaper reported.

Gianforcaro's dispute with FEMA comes amid ongoing shortages of masks and other personal protective equipment desperately needed by medical workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the national stockpile, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is meant as a backup, and state leaders should be working to secure supplies on their own.

Delaware has been granted less than 1% of the 10 million masks and 100 million gloves it requested from the stockpile last month, according to leaked federal documents, the News Journal reported.

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