"Jim Kallstrom is too good a person, too experienced a person, to be on the sidelines while the nation is at war with this horrible terrorist element," said Gov. George Pataki, who made the appointment.

Kallstrom, 58, former head of the FBI's New York office, said he has been attending "the funerals of friends of mine, multiple friends of mine, and there was a nagging part of my body and my heart that wanted to do something."

At the devastated Trade Center site, meanwhile, the cleanup continued, with rubble steadily being cleared away and dogs occasionally brought in to uncover human remains. Of the 4,815 people reported missing, 422 have been confirmed dead and of those, 370 have been identified.

Millions of dollars have been paid out from charitable relief funds to victims' families.

The American Red Cross has collected nearly $370 million and expects to distribute up to $30,000 to every family who lost a loved one. So far the fund has distributed $18 million to 1,000 families. An additional $3 million has been given to families affected in other ways, such as neighborhood residents who were driven from their homes.

The International Association of Fire Fighters has collected $20 million for relatives of the 343 fallen firefighters.

More than 100 other charities have established funds. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who with city officials is overseeing distribution of the donations, estimated the outpouring could top $1 billion.

On Wednesday, his office unveiled an electronic database providing information on 180 charities collecting money for people victimized by the attack. So far, a few cases has emerged involving charities that may be fraudulent, but no widespread problems have been reported.

A former Marine captain who served in Vietnam, Kallstrom took part in the investigation into the 1993 terrorist bombing of the twin towers. The attack resulted in six deaths, more than 1,000 injuries and six convictions.

Kallstrom helped lead the FBI investigation that led to Gotti's conviction on murder, extortion and racketeering charges, and he led the investigation into whether a terrorist act had destroyed TWA 800.

The 1996 crash was eventually blamed on mechanical problems. Kallstrom, known for his blunt, get-it-done style, was accused by some of focusing the FBI investigation too narrowly on criminal or terrorist involvement.

After leaving the FBI in 1997, Kallstrom joined the financial services company MBNA. He is taking a leave of absence from MBNA for the new state security job, which is an unpaid position.

As director of the state Office of Public Security, Kallstrom will work with state law enforcement agencies and report directly to the governor.

Meanwhile, plans were under way around the city to mark the one-month commemoration of the Sept. 11 disaster. The events scheduled for Thursday range from a Mass by Franciscan monks to a benefit reading from "The Great Gatsby." The novel's narrator is _ like many of the Sept. 11 victims _ a bond trader who came to New York in search of the American dream.

That excerpt is scheduled to be read by Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer-Prize winning fiction writer, at a benefit sponsored by The New Yorker magazine. The event will also feature readings by Woody Allen, John Updike and Arthur Miller.