Deep in a caged-in maze of corridors and vaults, evidence and property control specialists (EPCS) safeguard billions of dollars worth of items stored in the basement of One Police Plaza. A total of about 95 EPCS (their nickname is Epics) are Local 237 members, the majority of whom work at Police Department facilities, while others work at Health Department sites. For the seven members who work at NYPD’s Manhattan Property Clerk Division, however, the Epic title also refers to the momentous event they shared.

A routine day at Manhattan Property revolves around the arrival of anything from weapons to watches sent by local precincts. Epics sort, categorize and label each item with a storage number, then stash it away. Some property winds up in court as evidence, but ultimately it’s returned to rightful owners, auctioned off, or destroyed.

Since 9/11, the job changed radically for the crew of seven Epics at Manhattan Property, just a stone’s throw from Ground Zero. Soon after the catastrophe, in addition to their regular duties, these Epics assumed an unprecedented mission: to identify, store and return property recovered from the World Trade Center collapse to the rightful owners, 2,749 of whom died in the devastation. To that end, Epics, including members who pitched in from other work sites, labored around the clock, sometimes putting in 16-hour days as they created a makeshift command center and tracked mountains of property that poured in daily.

“Some things couldn’t be identified,” says EPCS Danny Juliano, who was there from day one. “Shoes, clothing, briefcases were often badly burned, broken, covered in blood, dust or body parts,” he recalls. Specialists actually hand-washed and dried loads of clothing, and even ironed crumpled currency and documents in a tireless effort to identify them. “One handbag arrived from Ground Zero with a female’s rib bone in it. The bag was returned to the city morgue for DNA testing,” recalls Juliano, explaining that perhaps a recovery worker dropped the bone in the purse for safekeeping.

The musty odor of tragedy still lingers in the halls, despite round-the-clock air purifiers. Floor-to-ceiling shelves labeled WTC still contain bags of clothing that arrived from morgues more than two years ago. Assorted briefcases stand on shelves below suitcases, including a bright red one identified as having come from one of the planes that struck the towers.

“We sifted through everything,” says Juliano, as he points to 35 boxes bound for one corporation. They’re filled with employee I.D. cards found at Ground Zero, and tracking sheets prepared by Epics, identifying cards that belonged to victims reported dead on arrival.

Since Dec. 2001, EPCS Michael Henley and Jerry Maniscalco have been conducting full investigations to match WTC property with rightful owners. “I took about 15,000 photos of jewelry items,” says Henley, who also used a magnifying glass to identify minute details, such as inscriptions on wedding bands. Henley was trained by renowned jeweler Tiffany & Co. to accurately record the size, shape and characteristics of gemstones, watches, gold and silver in order to compile a veritable computer catalog of mementos that families can look through.

“The goal is to get a hit,” says Maniscalco, at his computer station just across from Henley. They both face a great wall covered with heart-wrenching photographs sent by grieving families hoping to locate items, mostly of sentimental value. One color close-up of a bride and groom’s hands focuses on wedding rings. Another photo enlarges a gold pendant highlighting an image of Christ crowned with thorns.

As soon as a “hit” is made, EPCS Rose M. Grau generates the letters and assists in making phone calls to alert individuals or corporations of findings. When individuals arrive to claim property, Grau is among the Epics who welcomes them to the cozy “WTC Family Greeting Room,” designed from scratch as a proper place to conduct the sensitive process of reviewing documents and turning over property. “Lots of work goes into making matches, and people are so appreciative,” says Grau, adding “it’s a good feeling for me, too.”

More than 50 percent of the pieces have been returned, but with about 50,000 left, “we’re still overwhelmed,” says Juliano, explaining that Manhattan Property’s crew of Epics had been expanded to 15 during the crisis, but was cut back to seven last July when Federal Emergency Management Funds were shifted to anti-terrorism efforts. “We don’t have the manpower or overtime to process the property,” says Juliano, who is also the Local 237 shop steward.

Without FEMA funds, the project is at a standstill, although the long-term plan is to donate remaining items to a museum. “Piece by piece we do the best we can, says Police Officer Francine Vitiello, who also works on the WTC project.

Perhaps some of the items will find a home at the new World Trade Center site, where plans are under way for a complex of office towers, retail stores, a transit center and a memorial to honor and remember the victims. “We’re reminded every day,” says Juliano. “Everybody here is still operating with WTC property and mourners.”