Ben Bertolucci

A reporter for the Raccoon Press, Ben Bertolucci discovered that Chief Brian Irons was taking bribes from Umbrella. Unfortunately Irons caught him snooping around sometime in September of 1998 and had him locked up in the R.P.D.'s holding cells. This actually saved Ben from the initial outbreak of the T-Virus, as a wrecked paddywagon blocked the entrance to the cell block and prevented the zombies from reaching the reporter.

Ben was sought by Ada Wong who with the help of Leon S. Kennedy moved the paddywagon and gained entrance to the cells. Although he had the key in his possession, Ben refused to leave the cell, feeling he was safer inside it than out, what with all the zombies and other assorted mutants crawling around. However, he did inform Leon and Ada that they could get out of the police station through the sewer entrance in the kennel.

A short while later, Ben was attacked by the mutated William Birkin, who forcibly implanted a G-Embryo into his body. The embryo matured rapidly and the resulting G-Infant soon burst from the reporter's body, killing him, but not before Ben was able to give Leon (summoned to the cell block by Ben's screams as Birkin had attacked him) proof of Chief Irons' treachery in the form of several faxes from Birkin to the Chief.

Comments

In the Leon Scenario A of Resident Evil 2, Ben dies as described above. He also dies this way in City of The Dead by S.D. Perry, and in the Wildstorm/DC Comics adaption A New Chapter of Evil by Ted Adams. However, in Leon Scenario B, Ben dies instead when Birkin merely beats him to a bloody pulp.