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NY Post
New York Post
20 Jun 2023


NextImg:NYC firefighter stole credit cards off dead man, wanted to buy AirPods: authorities

A Manhattan firefighter swiped credit cards from a dead man during an EMS call and then went on a spending spree with them the next day, eying such goodies as AirPods at a Target, authorities said Tuesday.

Sylus McKenzie, 33, of the Bronx who had been working for the FDNY for four years, pulled off the sickening scheme while responding to a 911 call for an unresponsive man at 231 E. 50th St. in Manhattan on the night of Jan. 11, 2021, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.

The resident was pronounced dead at the scene, the DA said in a press release — but that didn’t stop McKenzie.

The rogue smoke-eater left the dead man’s Turtle Bay apartment, and as other first responders were in the midst of sealing the home, it was discovered that the dead man’s credit cards were missing, prosecutors said.

The rogue firefighter allegedly spent around 1,000 dollars using credit cards stolen from the unresponsive victim.
Taidgh Barron/NY Post

McKenzie spent the next morning — between 9 and 11 a.m. — traveling around to various stories using or trying to use the victim’s cards to the tune of $1,123.21, authorities said.

He went to a Sunoco Gas Station, Food Bazaar Supermarket and Target, they said.

McKenzie charged $250 in merchandise from stores in the Bronx and attempted to buy $800 more in goodies, prosecutors allege.

McKenzie was arraigned last week on a slew of charges including grand larceny, attempted identity theft, criminal impersonation, and official misconduct.

“The defendant, a firefighter in the New York City Fire Department, allegedly stole an American Express card and a Mastercard while responding to a 911 call at the Manhattan home of a patient who died,’’ Clark said in the statement.

“A day later, the defendant allegedly went to various stores in the Bronx and made purchases using the stolen cards.

“These alleged actions are reprehensible, even more so because he is a member of the city’s Bravest and violated the public trust.”

McKenzie is due back in court on Sept. 7.

Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer