A probationary firefighter was busted yesterday for using a gift card he allegedly snatched from a fellow smoke-eater in their Queens firehouse, authorities said.
Michael Hengerle, 25, was arrested at Engine 320 on Francis Lewis Boulevard in the Bayside section of the borough, just days after the FDNY notified the Department of Investigation, law-enforcement sources said.
Hengerle, of Centereach, L.I., allegedly lifted a $125 PC Richard & Son gift card from another firefighter’s locker and used it to buy stereo equipment, law enforcement sources said.
When his purchase exceeded the amount on the pilfered card, Hengerle used his own credit card to pay the balance, authorities said.
“Firehouse culture is built upon trust because firefighters may need to rely upon each other in life-threatening situations,” said DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn. “The conduct charged here indicates a betrayal of that trust.”
Hengerle, a former Marine who reportedly served two tours of duty in Iraq, was suspended from his job and charged with petit larceny.