Around the world, Cintron, 66, will be remembered as the "Weekend at Bernie's" guy - or the corpse that was dressed up and wheeled down Ninth Ave. on Jan. 8 by two pals allegedly trying to cash his last Social Security check.
"He was a heck of a nice guy," said the friend, Edgar Vargas, 64. "He wasn't the type who went around robbing people. He read a lot, he was smart - he could have done anything."
The news stories after Cintron's all-too-public death painted him as a small-time con artist and longtime drug user.
The pals who were arrested for pushing Cintron's body onto the streets - James O'Hare and David Daloia, both 65 - did not attend the service at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Hell's Kitchen.
But O'Hare, who was Cintron's roommate, walked past the church yesterday as Cintron's service let out. Looking surprised his friend was being laid to rest, O'Hare covered his face and scurried away.
Cintron was buried in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.
Cintron's family members, annoyed by the press coverage, refused to speak with reporters. They preferred to remember Cintron as the longtime neighborhood fixture he was.
Cintron grew up - and died - in an apartment around the corner from the church. He was baptized and attended school at Sacred Heart, according to the Rev. Manuel Herrera.
Cintron ate his lunch at the church's soup kitchen most days, Herrera said.
"It was a bad ending," Vargas said. "It never should have been that way."
"He was a heck of a nice guy," said the friend, Edgar Vargas, 64. "He wasn't the type who went around robbing people. He read a lot, he was smart - he could have done anything."
The news stories after Cintron's all-too-public death painted him as a small-time con artist and longtime drug user.
The pals who were arrested for pushing Cintron's body onto the streets - James O'Hare and David Daloia, both 65 - did not attend the service at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Hell's Kitchen.
But O'Hare, who was Cintron's roommate, walked past the church yesterday as Cintron's service let out. Looking surprised his friend was being laid to rest, O'Hare covered his face and scurried away.
Cintron was buried in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.
Cintron's family members, annoyed by the press coverage, refused to speak with reporters. They preferred to remember Cintron as the longtime neighborhood fixture he was.
Cintron grew up - and died - in an apartment around the corner from the church. He was baptized and attended school at Sacred Heart, according to the Rev. Manuel Herrera.
Cintron ate his lunch at the church's soup kitchen most days, Herrera said.
"It was a bad ending," Vargas said. "It never should have been that way."
Around the world, Cintron, 66, will be remembered as the "Weekend at Bernie's" guy - or the corpse that was dressed up and wheeled down Ninth Ave. on Jan. 8 by two pals allegedly trying to cash his last Social Security check.
"He was a heck of a nice guy," said the friend, Edgar Vargas, 64. "He wasn't the type who went around robbing people. He read a lot, he was smart - he could have done anything."
The news stories after Cintron's all-too-public death painted him as a small-time con artist and longtime drug user.
The pals who were arrested for pushing Cintron's body onto the streets - James O'Hare and David Daloia, both 65 - did not attend the service at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Hell's Kitchen.
But O'Hare, who was Cintron's roommate, walked past the church yesterday as Cintron's service let out. Looking surprised his friend was being laid to rest, O'Hare covered his face and scurried away.
Cintron was buried in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.
Cintron's family members, annoyed by the press coverage, refused to speak with reporters. They preferred to remember Cintron as the longtime neighborhood fixture he was.
Cintron grew up - and died - in an apartment around the corner from the church. He was baptized and attended school at Sacred Heart, according to the Rev. Manuel Herrera.
Cintron ate his lunch at the church's soup kitchen most days, Herrera said.
"It was a bad ending," Vargas said. "It never should have been that way."
"He was a heck of a nice guy," said the friend, Edgar Vargas, 64. "He wasn't the type who went around robbing people. He read a lot, he was smart - he could have done anything."
The news stories after Cintron's all-too-public death painted him as a small-time con artist and longtime drug user.
The pals who were arrested for pushing Cintron's body onto the streets - James O'Hare and David Daloia, both 65 - did not attend the service at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Hell's Kitchen.
But O'Hare, who was Cintron's roommate, walked past the church yesterday as Cintron's service let out. Looking surprised his friend was being laid to rest, O'Hare covered his face and scurried away.
Cintron was buried in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.
Cintron's family members, annoyed by the press coverage, refused to speak with reporters. They preferred to remember Cintron as the longtime neighborhood fixture he was.
Cintron grew up - and died - in an apartment around the corner from the church. He was baptized and attended school at Sacred Heart, according to the Rev. Manuel Herrera.
Cintron ate his lunch at the church's soup kitchen most days, Herrera said.
"It was a bad ending," Vargas said. "It never should have been that way."
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