LI Volunteer Firefighter Indicted For Impersonating NYPD Officer: DA

WADING RIVER, NY —A former volunteer firefighter with the Wading River Fire Department was indicted Tuesday for impersonating a NYPD officer, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Mary Ortega, 46, responded to shifts and a fire call wearing an NYPD uniform despite the fact that she is not a police officer, and then presented forged documents during an investigation into the allegation, Tierney said.

Ortega was arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony; three counts of first-degree falsifying business records, a felony; three counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony; and second-degree criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor, police said.

An investigation revealed that Ortega reported for shifts at the Wading River Fire Department and responded to a fire call wearing what appeared to be an NYPD uniform, the DA said. Ortega was later found with a fraudulent NYPD identification card and numerous pieces of fake NYPD attire, Tierney said.

In May, Ortega was suspended by the Wading River Fire Department pending further investigation into her alleged employment by the NYPD, prosecutors said. After her suspension, Ortega
reportedly presented the chief of the fire department with a forged NYPD identification card, a forged letter purportedly written and signed by New York State Senator Simcha Felder, and a forged letter supposedly written and signed by Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Tierney said.

Both letters falsely referred to Ortega as a sworn member of the NYPD and discussed Ortega’s fictitious assignment with an undercover gang and drug unit within the NYPD, Tierney said.

Later, Ortega admitted that she had never been employed by the NYPD; she also said she had never held a volunteer position with the NYPD, the DA said. She also admitted to purchasing the fraudulent NYPD identification card, a police shield, and other police attire online, Tierney said.

Ortega was arrested by Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office investigators on Wednesday and arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei, Tierney said. She pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance, Tierney said.

Her next court date is March 9, 2023. Ortega is being represented by Hailey Baldwin, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"This defendant is alleged to have violated the trust of the Wading River community by falsely holding herself out to be a New York City police officer, and then compounding that misconduct by allegedly filing forged letters from two high-ranking public officials to conceal her original crime,” said Tierney. “My office supports the brave men and women in law enforcement, and part of that support is holding accountable those who would attempt to wrongfully benefit from their honor.”