By Phil Corso
The city firefighter from Long Island accused of making fake 911 calls before hitting five firehouses for cash — including two from Glen Oaks and Astoria — has admitted to the crime, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Joseph Keene, 34, pleaded guilty in Queens State Supreme Court to felony counts of second- and third-degree burglary and must enter an in-patient drug treatment program and pay back $1,500 restitution to the FDNY, Brown said. He also faces 3 1/2 years in prison if he fails treatment, documents said.
The Hicksville, L.I., native snagged nearly $2,000 in cash after breaking into two firehouses in Staten Island and two more in Glen Oaks and Astoria, a city Department of Investigation report said. He also stole money from a Fire Department facility on Randalls Island, the report said.
“It is surprising that a firefighter would both call in fake 911 calls and steal money from colleagues,” said DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn. “To do so at this time, when there is a heightened need and demand for units to be responding to legitimate calls to people in need, is especially outrageous.”
Keene was assigned to Engine Co. 75 in the Bronx at the time of his arrest in July after six years on the job, a spokesman said. He resigned from the Fire Department to avoid termination Nov. 7, a department spokesman said.
In his first incident, the DOI said Keene, who made $76,488 in 2012, reported the smell of gasoline near Forrest and Veltman avenues in Staten Island, springing Ladder 83 of Engine 163 into action and leaving the firehouse, at 875 Jewett Ave., vacant. He then admitted to making his way into the firehouse and stealing between $150 and $200 in cash, the DOI report said.
Nine days later, the records said Keene reported a sparking transformer near Victory Boulevard and Forrest Avenue in Staten Island, where Ladder 80 of Engine 157, at 1573 Castleton Ave., responded. Soon after making the phony call, Keene made his way into the firehouse and stole between $400 and $500, the DOI said.
His third and most fruitful theft occurred June 11, when Keene reported a gas odor at Jamaica Avenue and Little Neck Parkway before making his way into Engine 251, at 254-20 Union Turnpike in Glen Oaks, the DOI said. There, he stole about $1,200 and was caught in the act on surveillance footage, the report said.
Keene’s last two acts occurred July 17, the report said, when he started his day stealing between $40 and $60 from the employee locker area at the FDNY facility on Randalls Island. That same day, he stole about $100 from the 42-06 Astoria Blvd. firehouse belonging to Engine 263 while units were responding to a fire in the Bronx, the DOI said.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
