Crime & Safety
Off-Duty Garbage Man Knocks Queens Commuter Off Scooter, Cops Say
An off-duty sanitation worker was arrested for attacking a Long Island City commuter and landing him in the hospital, cops said.
LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — An off-duty garbage man was arrested after he knocked a stranger off his scooter and landed him in the hospital, according to police.
A 37-year-old man was riding to work on Crescent Street in Long Island City Tuesday morning when his morning scoot took a turn for the worse, said police.
The off-duty city employee, 46-year-old Patrick Malfetto, knocked the man off the scooter, reached his arm across the commuter's neck and cut off his breathing, a police spokesperson said.
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EMS rushed the man to Mount Sinai Queens in stable condition, said police.
The two men didn't seem to know each other and there were no indications that Malfetto was intoxicated at the time, the NYPD spokesperson said.
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Police arrested Malfetto just before 9 a.m. Tuesday on charges of criminal obstruction of breathing, assault and harassment.
Under New York law, criminal obstruction of breathing is a class A misdemeanor, carrying up to a year of prison time or three years' probation.
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