From New York Post
The city Department of Investigation has taken over a probe into a Muslim firefighter’s claims that he was bullied and harassed at his Brooklyn firehouse, The Post has learned.
The fate of at least two captains, four lieutenants and two firefighters at Engine 309/Ladder 159 in Flatlands remains under a cloud due to the allegations. All have been transferred.
The DOI, which was already looking into a possible “culture of hazing” at the FDNY after a series of Post exposés, has instructed the FDNY’s Bureau of Investigations and Trials to halt its internal probe of the Brooklyn firehouse case, sources said.
The development is significant because DOI probes often result in criminal charges filed by a district attorney.
The Muslim firefighter, Raheem Hassan, 30, had been tormented by fellow firefighters since the summer of 2015, a person close to the case told The Post.
Hassan claimed his colleagues served him pasta sauce spiked with pork and cooked his food in bacon grease — meats his religion forbids him to eat.
The source alleged some colleagues humiliated Hassan as he slept, taking photos of their genitals next to his face and sharing them in text messages.
“There was always tension. He didn’t make waves, but when they started playing with his food, he complained about it to the powers that be,” the insider said.
