FDNY firefighter accused of stealing credit cards from dead man during 911 call

Thomas Tracy, Leonard Greene, New York Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
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An FDNY firefighter stole credit cards from a dead patient during an EMS call in Manhattan, then used the cards to make hundreds of dollars worth of purchases, officials said Tuesday.

Sylus McKenzie, 33, a firefighter from the Bronx, responded to a 911 call for an unresponsive man at an apartment on E. 50th St. on Jan. 11, 2021. The patient was pronounced dead shortly after McKenzie arrived.

After McKenzie left the scene and other first responders were preparing to seal the location it was discovered that many of the dead man’s credit cards were missing from the apartment.

Investigators learned that a day later, in the span of two hours, multiple transactions were made, and attempted, on the dead man’s missing credit cards.

The defendant allegedly bought or tried to buy a total of $1,123.21 in purchases at a Sunoco Gas Station, a Food Bazaar supermarket, and AirPods at Target.

“The defendant, a firefighter in the New York City Fire Department, allegedly stole an American Express card and a MasterCard,” said Bronx DA Darcel Clark. “These alleged actions are reprehensible, even more so because he is a member of the city’s Bravest and violated the public trust.”

McKenzie, a firefighter for four years at the time, was arraigned on June 15 on two counts of grand larceny, identity theft, criminal impersonation, and official misconduct before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas.

He is due back in court on Sept. 7.

Jocelyn Strauber, the city’s Department of Investigation commissioner, called the theft “disgraceful,” and added that McKenzie’s alleged misconduct “does not represent the compassion and integrity of the city’s first responders.”

An FDNY EMT was charged with grand larceny in Queens last year for allegedly racking up $800 in purchases with a credit card he swiped from a patient.