NEW YORK — An FDNY firefighter has been paid $125,000 plus benefits since 2013 for allegedly doing nothing.
NY Post reported that Arnaldo Rodriguez, 40, joined the FDNY as an EMT and was later promoted to firefighter as part of the department’s settlement of a federal racial discrimination lawsuit. Four days after he entered the academy, he was told to report for a hearing at the office of the chief of personnel.
When he showed up, he was asked for his cellphone number and was told he no longer had to go to the academy, according to the report. He asked where he should show up instead and was told: “You work for us. We don’t work for you. We’ll call you — don’t call us.”
Rodriguez and his lawyer, Peter Gleason, said they suspect the department is listing him as a firefighter to show compliance with the federal court settlement. His paychecks show deductions paid to the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
An FDNY spokesman did not comment.