Lauren Lovallo
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Dozens of workers from two city agencies, including several individuals from Staten Island, are under probe for allegedly submitting fraudulent coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination proof, according to a published report.
Employees from the FDNY and the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) are accused of the malfeasance, noted the New York Post, which broke the story on Saturday.
According to the Post, those Sanitation workers who allegedly submitted fake vaccination cards worked mainly out of two Staten Island garages: One on Richmond Avenue by the Staten Island Mall, and one on Arthur Kill Road.
City workers were mandated by Mayor Bill de Blasio in late October to submit proof of having at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1 or face unpaid leave, a move that caused heavy backlash around Staten Island and the rest city and led to a Sanitation “slowdown” that caused trash to pile up on city streets.
According to the Post, the phony vaccination card scheme appeared to involve the theft of blank cards; the Post also reported FDNY officials were aware of the alleged falsification plan and sent a memo to warn employees that forging an “official vaccination card” for “the purpose of proving vaccination compliance” may be a felony.
An EMS lieutenant may have been at the center of the scheme, an FDNY source allegedly told the Post, and some of the stolen vaccination cards may have been illegally sold.
On the DSNY side, the Post reported at least 50 Sanitation workers have been suspended and possibly 150 involved in the scheme that may have included a drug store employee submitting false data to New York state.
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