A 45-year-old man is accused of impersonating and FDNY emergency medical services lieutenant and swindling numerous businesses.
Robert Schnepf is charged with petit larceny, criminal impersonation of a public servant and possession of a forged instrument, according to the FDNY. He is accused of wearing a department uniform and using the alias "Lt. Hart" in order to defraud Staten Island businesses.
“It is a complete abuse of public trust for someone to impersonate a public servant,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement. “Members of this Department are proud to represent an agency that people can count on in their time of need. We and our partners in the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement alike will not tolerate any situation where someone is in the community falsely representing themselves for personal gain.”
According to the department, fire marshals saw Schnepf wearing an FDNY EMS lieutenant uniform and "acting suspiciously within a public park in Queens" on June 19. After investigating, the marshals discovered that Schnepf had been posing as a member of the department and "flashing a badge" in order to allegedly bilk businesses in Staten Island out of money, goods and services.
