SCALES OF JUSTICE
It’s NYPD courage at its peak. Three fearless city cops — including one who was shot in the leg three years ago — will embark on a treacherous journey to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for children with cancer, the men told The Post.
“Nine days of hiking is not my idea of fun, but if you throw in kids who are having the hardest fights of their lives — and their families dealing with that — how do you say no?” said Lt. Manny Kwo, 33, who was wounded during a 2016 shootout in The Bronx that killed his partner, Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo.
Kwo will make the trek with Lt. Charlie Trento, 45, and Detective Nicholas Anastasakos, 40.
“It’s one of those once-ina-lifetimetype opportunities,” Kwo said. The cops, all of whom are novice mountain climbers, plan to ascend Africa’s tallest mountain to raise $20,000 for the Ronald McDonald House in New York in July. The thrilling adventure began as a “pipe dream” after Trento (above) learned that actress Mandy Moore had made the trek last year, and he halfjoked to a coworker that they should, too. “It planted a seed. I was thinking, ‘ We could do this,’ ” said Trento, who mentioned the idea to Anastasakos in a hallway at Police Headquarters in Manhattan, where they work in the Information Technology Bureau.
But the far-fetched idea soon became a reality as they enlisted Kwo, who runs NYPD sports — and each plunked down $1,500 on airplane tickets along with $3,000 for equipment and other supplies.
Before their journey, they plans to undergo rigorous training, including long hikes with oxygen masks, and to abide by strict diets, they said.
Kwo is prepping for the 19,341foot trek with cardio workouts and long hikes on the weekends. He has fully recovered from the shooting, he said.
“A lot of it is just pacing yourself and getting in the right frame of mind,” said Anastasakos, who got some practice climbing Machu Picchu in Peru last year.
Trento said he is trying to lay off meat before the trek, while also gaining weight.
“I’m a hard-charger,” he said. “If I’m gonna do something, all-in.”
The ascent sometimes leaves climbers sick, dizzy and dehydrated. It claims roughly 10 lives a year.