Firefighters Having Sex Flings Will Be Fired, Chief Says
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Participants in firehouse sex flings will be terminated, according to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
“Everyone [and] anyone who was involved in sexual activity at this firehouse will be fired,” said Mr. Scoppetta, who said that even consensual activity is banned while on duty. “Anyone who has violated any of our rules with respect to drugs or drinking…faces termination as well. We’re simply not going to let the activities of a few members of this department soil the reputation, the very hard-won reputation, of this department.”
Allegations recently surfaced that firefighters gang-raped a woman in a Bronx firehouse, although the Bronx district attorney, Robert Johnson, on Friday decided not to file charges against firefighters at the Engine 75-Ladder 33 firehouse in Fordham. A spokeswoman with the D.A.’s office, Michelle Medley, would not comment on reports that the victim claimed to have had consensual sex with some firefighters and was raped by others, but then recanted her allegations – only to make new accusations. “Based on insufficient evidence, we will not be prosecuting this case,” Ms. Medley.
Mr. Scoppetta said the fire department and the department of investigation are investigating allegations of sexual activity at the firehouse. “Firefighters are being questioned, as we speak, at DOI with the Fire Department present,” said Mr. Scoppetta. “We want to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.”
WORKER’S CORPSE FOUND AT MANHATTAN CHURCH
A construction worker who had been reported missing by his co-workers last week was found dead at a landmark Manhattan church.
The body of the 30-year-old man was found stuffed in a “construction shack” between the attic and the rooftop of St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church at 263 W. 86th St., according to police. Workers discovered the body at 2:55 p.m. yesterday, police said.
Police did not identify the victim and would not describe how he died.
FATAL STABBING IN BROOKLYN
A man was stabbed to death following a dispute at his Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, and police are seeking the killer.
James Heyward, 20, was found at his 399 Putnam Ave. apartment with stab wounds to his neck and chest at 6:15 a.m. yesterday and was pronounced dead at the scene.
There have been no arrests and police are investigating.
LIVERY DRIVER SHOT
A livery cab driver was shot twice and robbed in the Eastchester section of the Bronx, and police are searching for the shooter. The 25-year-old victim was shot twice in the right arm at 12:40 a.m. yesterday at Burke and Edison avenues. The suspect, described as a 20-year-old black man, fled with about $100 in cash. The victim is in stable condition.
CORRECTIONS OFFICER ARRESTED IN BROOKLYN
A corrections officer was arrested in Coney Island for driving drunk and leaving the scene of an accident, police said. Mikhail Beilin, 55, is accused of driving away after he allegedly struck another car while drunk. Mr. Beilin was arrested at 1:07 a.m. yesterday. There were no injuries, police said.
ANTI – SEMITIC BIAS
A man at Sheepshead Bay was pushed to the ground by a group of white males who made anti-Semitic statements to the victim, police said. The 22-year old victim was walking on Emmons Ave. at 11:50 p.m. Sunday when he was attacked, police said. There were no arrests; the investigation is ongoing.