Sanitation worker was soliciting sex on the job when assaulted: NYPD

A sanitation worker who claimed he was attacked and robbed while on the job was actually soliciting a prostitute when he got into a fistfight, and he has now been charged with filing a false report.

Michael Morelli, 31, had told police he was pistol-whipped in Queens on Wednesday morning while removing snow, the New York Daily News reported, but authorities said he was actually soliciting sex when he got into an altercation with two men on the street.

Morelli, who had claimed he lost his cellphone in the supposed attack and robbery, admitted to lying to authorities after his cellphone was found and turned in to police, the Daily News added.

He then stated that he actually was soliciting a prostitute when he began arguing with two men on the street, which led to them assaulting him, NBC stated in a related report. The details surrounding the altercation are unclear.

Morelli was issued a desk appearance ticket for filing a false report, police said to NBC, which added that the Department of Sanitation did not comment, saying that the incident is now a police matter.