Two New York City firefighters made headlines this week, but it wasn’t for putting out fires or heroically saving lives.
Instead, federal prosecutors accuse Anthony Cilento, a Coney Island fireman, of working for the Bonanno crime family while he was part of Ladder 166.
Cilento allegedly helped mafia goons deliver cocaine and extort people, claim prosecutors. The firefighter, who was in court yesterday for a hearing, allegedly participated in “violent assaults with a lead pipe and firearms,” according to court documents.
Cilento even has his own mafia nickname, reported the New York Daily News, sometimes going by the name “December.”
A source told the paper that Cilento wanted to leave the thug life behind and he joined the FDNY to turn his life around. But prosecutors said he kept up the dirty work while also working for the city.
Another firefighter, Rolando Romero, 29, was arrested Tuesday in the Bronx for allegedly choking someone in what police described as a domestic dispute.
He was charged with menacing and unlawful imprisonment, among other charges.
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.
