Monday, November 15, 2004
ZERO NOW A HERO
Mon Nov 15, 3:22 AM ET
By MICHAEL WHITE, JAMIE SCHRAM and ANDY GELLER
The Staten Island fire captain who was booted for covering up a boozy New Year's Eve firehouse brawl swung into action early yesterday and put out two small blazes next door to his girlfriend's home.
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Terrence Sweeney was at the house on Annadale Road at 1:45 a.m. when an assailant tossed a Molotov cocktail at the second-floor balcony door of Nicholas Lanza, 42, officials said.
The attacker also hurled a firebomb at Lanza's Cadillac SUV, which was parked on the street.
"I was on the couch sleeping when I heard a sound like a car crash," said Sweeney's girlfriend.
"When I looked out the window, the flames were leaping four feet above the Cadillac."
The woman, who asked that her name not be printed, said Sweeney, helped by her son, used a garden hose to put out the blazes before firefighters arrived.
"Thank God no one was hurt," she said.
Yesterday's firebomb attack was the third incident at the Lanza home since late August.
On Aug. 28, cops said, a man wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts knocked on Lanza's door and asked about a car he was selling.
When Lanza stepped outside, the man beat him savagely about his face and body with a bat, cops said.
His injuries included a broken arm and head injuries, cops said. He was in the hospital for four weeks, according to a neighbor.
On Oct. 8, cops said, Lanza found a broken bottle and a burned piece of cloth near a burned patch of lawn.
Sources said that one of the aborted firebombings had been videotaped, but they refused to say which.
The reason for the attacks against Lanza was not immediately clear.
Neighbors said he has a wife and three young children, all of them under 8 years old.
It was not known if his wife or any of his kids were in the house yesterday when the firebomb was thrown.
Sweeney's girlfriend, speaking of the series of attacks on her neighbor's home, said, "It's really scary. Next time, somebody's going to get killed."
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said, "It's not going to be all over until they get that guy. Whoever it is, they're not going to stop until they get him."
Sweeney, a 26-year FDNY veteran, was forced to retire Feb. 10 after trying to cover up a New Year's Eve brawl at the Tottenville station in which firefighter Michael Silvestri, 41, slammed a metal chair into the face of firefighter Robert Walsh, 40, fracturing his nose and jaw.
Sweeney, who agreed to pay a $90,883 fine, initially said Walsh had fallen down a flight of stairs.
Mon Nov 15, 3:22 AM ET
By MICHAEL WHITE, JAMIE SCHRAM and ANDY GELLER
The Staten Island fire captain who was booted for covering up a boozy New Year's Eve firehouse brawl swung into action early yesterday and put out two small blazes next door to his girlfriend's home.
•
Qns. Cleaver Creep At Large
•
b'klyn Blaze Doused – Twice
•
Parents Must Help Curb Violence
•
Crime Reigns At 16 Schools
•
'soprano' Mobster Lands In 'leak' Soup
Terrence Sweeney was at the house on Annadale Road at 1:45 a.m. when an assailant tossed a Molotov cocktail at the second-floor balcony door of Nicholas Lanza, 42, officials said.
The attacker also hurled a firebomb at Lanza's Cadillac SUV, which was parked on the street.
"I was on the couch sleeping when I heard a sound like a car crash," said Sweeney's girlfriend.
"When I looked out the window, the flames were leaping four feet above the Cadillac."
The woman, who asked that her name not be printed, said Sweeney, helped by her son, used a garden hose to put out the blazes before firefighters arrived.
"Thank God no one was hurt," she said.
Yesterday's firebomb attack was the third incident at the Lanza home since late August.
On Aug. 28, cops said, a man wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts knocked on Lanza's door and asked about a car he was selling.
When Lanza stepped outside, the man beat him savagely about his face and body with a bat, cops said.
His injuries included a broken arm and head injuries, cops said. He was in the hospital for four weeks, according to a neighbor.
On Oct. 8, cops said, Lanza found a broken bottle and a burned piece of cloth near a burned patch of lawn.
Sources said that one of the aborted firebombings had been videotaped, but they refused to say which.
The reason for the attacks against Lanza was not immediately clear.
Neighbors said he has a wife and three young children, all of them under 8 years old.
It was not known if his wife or any of his kids were in the house yesterday when the firebomb was thrown.
Sweeney's girlfriend, speaking of the series of attacks on her neighbor's home, said, "It's really scary. Next time, somebody's going to get killed."
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said, "It's not going to be all over until they get that guy. Whoever it is, they're not going to stop until they get him."
Sweeney, a 26-year FDNY veteran, was forced to retire Feb. 10 after trying to cover up a New Year's Eve brawl at the Tottenville station in which firefighter Michael Silvestri, 41, slammed a metal chair into the face of firefighter Robert Walsh, 40, fracturing his nose and jaw.
Sweeney, who agreed to pay a $90,883 fine, initially said Walsh had fallen down a flight of stairs.
