QUEENS — A sanitation worker was pistol-whipped and robbed while cleaning the streets in Jamaica early Wednesday morning, police sources said.
The incident happened around 4 a.m. near the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Guy Brewer Boulevard.
The worker, whom the city's Department of Sanitation identified as Michael Morelli, was working alone while wearing a uniform and his sanitation truck was parked nearby, sources said.
He was shoveling around a fire hydrant when a man attacked him from behind, put him into a bear hug and demanded money, sources said.
When the worker tried to fight him off, the assailant called his accomplice, who sources said threatened to kill the worker and then pistol-whipped him with what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun.
The suspects took $25 in cash and the worker's cellphone, then got into a 4-door Nissan sedan and fled south on Guy Brewer Boulevard, sources said.
Sources also said that the worker, who suffered swelling and bruises to the head and hand, managed to drive back to a sanitation garage in South Ozone Park where he called police.
He was later taken to Jamaica Hospital, sources said.
"Our workforce works around the clock and I wish it was just a one time thing but unfortunately sanitation workers have been held up before," said Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association.
"It’s a terrible part of the job because the job is to service the public ... but unfortunately these two people felt they wanted to take advantage of a sanitation man," he added.
Nespoli also said that the worker, who has been with the department less than 18 months, has been released from the hospital but is still recovering from the ordeal.
"Anytime if you have a gun put to your head it's going to shake you up a little bit," Nespoli said.
Police sources described one of the suspects as being in his mid 40s, 5-foot-7 inches tall, wearing a red sweatshirt and tan pants. The second suspect was described as being in his 30s, about 6-foot tall and wearing blue jeans and black jacket.
"It is a felony to assault a Sanitation Worker while they are performing their duties," Belinda Mager, a spokeswoman for the Sanitation Department, said in an email. "The police are investigating."
