A sanitation worker who claimed to have been beaten and robbed on the job apparently made the whole thing up and was arrested Wednesday, according to police.
Michael Morelli, 31, originally filed a police report saying he had been using a shovel to clean snow from a fire hydrant when two unknown men approached him on Jan. 27 at 4 a.m.
In the report, Morelli claimed that the men pistol-whipped him and robbed $25 worth of cash and a Sanitation Department radio before fleeing. He was later treated at Jamaica Hospital.
Morelli later recanted his story during a follow-up interview with investigators.
According to police sources, Morelli was actually soliciting a prostitute during the time of his alleged attack and was later involved in a fist fight with two unidentified men. He lost his phone during the incident, but it was later recovered.
He was charged in Jamaica’s 103rd Precinct for filing a false police report. The investigation is ongoing.
Morelli is not one of the seasonal employees recently hired by the Sanitation Department to clean up the Blizzard of 2016. He is a uniformed worker and part of the regular employee ranks.
According to the Queens District Attorney, he was issued a desk appearance ticket by NYPD and will appear in court on March 11.
