By Dan Trudeau
Police and firefighters clashed Friday in Jackson Heights over which force was authorized to rescue a man suspected of trying to rob an Italian restaurant who had gotten stuck in the chimney of the establishment.
After about two hours, the alleged thief was arrested after police broke through a wall next to the chimney and pulled him out of the shaft, police said.
“I thought, 'This can't be happening. This is a joke,'” said Josephine Napolitano, whose family owns and operates Luigi's Italian Restaurant on 37th Avenue.
Napolitano received a call from police from the 115th Precinct around 3 a.m. informing her of the crime and when she arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes later, she found police and firefighters attempting to extract the suspected thief from the chimney through an interior wall.
The 22-year-old suspect, identified as William Quinga of 95-22 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica, was rescued from the chimney unscathed but was removed to Elmhurst hospital after being arrested, police said. He is being charged with burglary, criminal trespassing and possession of burglar's tools.
Quinga got stuck in a round metal chimney shaft that gradually narrowed to a diameter of close to one foot as he descended below street level. Police arrived at the scene after someone reported hearing calls for help outside the restaurant.
Tempers flared after the police and firefighters disagreed on proper procedure and Firefighter John Gaines was arrested after entering the restaurant, which police had classified as a crime scene, police officials said.
“The police were guarding it as a crime scene and the firefighters thought it was a rescue operation, and I think they got their lines crossed,” said Napolitano, who was waiting outside the building during the course of the rescue effort and investigation until Quinga was removed from the chimney around 5 a.m.
She estimated that close to 100 police, fire and emergency officers were present on the scene and said dust and soot from the extraction process, non-functioning air-conditioning and high temperatures may have helped cause the disagreement between the two uniformed groups.
The incident marked a setback for the Police and Fire Departments, which have been trying to foster better relations and improve communication since the World Trade Center attacks.
Napolitano found the absurd nature of the robbery attempt especially ironic because she was watching a television program about a robber stuck in a chimney at the time she received the call from police.
Efforts to clean up the mess following the rescue operation have been slow and difficult, she said, adding that repairs to the wall could be expensive and time consuming.
“We're having different contractors come in and examine it and give us estimates,” Napolitano said. “It's not going to be cheap… it could cost thousands and thousands.”
Reach Reporter Dan Trudeau by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
