BRAVEST SON’S SICK SCAM
EMT cuffed 3 times for allegedly posing as cop, blew off 911 calls — yet remains on job
Robert Gala, 25, son of a high-ranking FDNY chief, remains on city payroll despite multiple arrests and a DOI probe into falsifying 911 records.
The troubled EMT son of a high-ranking FDNY chief remains on the company payroll despite a string of arrests for pretending to be a cop and a documented history of blowing off 911 calls, the Daily News has learned.
Robert Gala, 25, was caught forging his partner’s signature on a patient’s report and giving false information to a 911 dispatcher in order to dodge a priority medical call, according to a Department of Investigation report.
He was also arrested at least three times for impersonating a cop — and became a suspect in a robbery case after using a fake badge to terrorize a man on a Brooklyn street and search his pockets, according to information and a surveillance video released by the NYPD and sources with knowledge of the case.
Gala, the son of Michael Gala, a deputy assistant chief on the FDNY’s firefighting side, has remained on the job despite an arrest history dating to 2013 — the first time he was popped for impersonating a police officer — and at least one stint in a drug rehab facility, city documents show.
Yet none of his arrests ever went anywhere. All his records are sealed, suggesting any charges against him were dropped.
In two of the cases where he was caught pretending to be a cop, witnesses were deemed “uncooperative,” according to two law enforcement sources.
“He’s a career criminal,” said a source who knows Gala but didn’t want to be named out of fear of retribution.
For all of Gala’s well-documented troubles, DOI left his fate in the hands of the FDNY when it concluded its investigation of him last fall — even though it substantiated the fraud and forgery allegations against him.
“DOI is referring its findings to the FDNY for whatever action it deems appropriate,” DOI wrote under the “recommendations” section of its closing memorandum, signed and dated by two investigators in September.
The watchdog agency first began looking at Gala in November 2016, when it received a complaint that he’d forged his partner’s signature on an electronic medical record for a patient.
Gala and his EMT partner were in an ambulance in Brooklyn and on their way for a lunch break at a Chinese restaurant when they “received notice of an emergency,” the DOI report said.
Instead of responding, Gala said he “wanted to eat his Chinese food in peace” and then flagged himself for a false call — claiming he was helping an injured male a few blocks away, investigators wrote in the report.
After eating, Gala used his partner’s password to unlock the EMS tablet used to document patient medical history and created a fake report, forged his partner’s signature and submitted it, DOI wrote.
Gala’s partner told DOI investigators it was far from the first “fake flag down” she’d seen Gala orchestrate.
Two months later, in January 2017, DOI got a complaint that Gala had lied to a dispatcher while on his way to a 911 emergency.
Gala was given a priority call — those assigned to an urgent situation — but he chose to ignore it and go after a different assignment, DOI said.
When a supervisor questioned why he didn’t do as he was instructed, Gala said he took what he thought was a faster route. Then, he said, the automated dispatch gave him the different assignment.
By reviewing the ambulance’s GPS logs, investigators concluded Gala had lied about his whereabouts and flagged himself for the assignment he wanted, ignoring the priority call.
In both the complaints against Gala, DOI said the troubled EMT blew off numerous appointments to speak with investigators alongside his attorney, who was likewise unable to reach his client when asked to produce him.
When DOI reached out to the FDNY to tell the agency Gala was a no-show, the department said he’d voluntarily sought out drug abuse treatment.
“(FDNY) informed DOI
that Gala had just registered himself into a drug rehabilitation center and was expected to return in a month,” DOI wrote.
The DOI in its report did not mention Gala's prior arrest in 2013 for impersonating a cop — but it did detail his July 21, 2017, arrest for the same.
Gala, who sources said had a fetish for cars and police paraphernalia, was nabbed by cops for allegedly having illegal flashing blue lights, police badges, plastic restraints and pellet guns.
He was charged on Staten Island with multiple counts of unlawful possession of imitation pistols, firearms and handcuffs and unlawful use of a police uniform, DOI said.
Three days later, a man sources identified as Gala was caught on surveillance video in Brooklyn rushing across a quiet street at an unsuspecting man.
The assailant flashed a gold police shield and ordered the victim to place his hands against the wall, according to police. The man was restrained with zip ties while the man believed to be Gala rifled through his pockets — and then left the victim hog-tied on the Brooklyn street, law enforcement sources said.
Gala was arrested several months later as a suspect in the robbery. But in both the Staten Island arrest and the one in Brooklyn, there's no public record — suggesting the cases were sealed.
A former friend of Gala's said “it was his thing” to pretend to be a cop.
“He has an unmarked cop car. He used to pull people over all the time. He has a badge and a gun on the side. He's just a freaking idiot,” the ex-friend said.
Outside his father's Brooklyn house Tuesday evening, Gala shook his head when asked about his alleged role in a robbery and impersonating a cop.
“I have no comment on any of that,” he said, jumping into a car that sported an EMT placard.
His father — rumored to be a front-runner for promotion to assistant chief of department at an upcoming ceremony Sept. 13 — struggled to hold back his emotions when he was asked for comment.
“I've served the FDNY for 37 years and I've had an impeccable career,” the dad said. “My son is an adult and he'll have to answer for it.”
FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer said Robert Gala was still an active-duty EMT, but restricted from patient care.
“He is pending further disciplinary action, up to termination,” Dwyer said. Gala is still drawing his FDNY salary and his status has been “pending” since his last arrest, Dwyer added.
Gala is not the only son of FDNY top brass to embarrass the department in recent years — and put a spotlight on the tight family bonds that are a defining characteristic of the agency.
His former EMS partner — now a firefighter — is Joseph Cassano, the son of former city Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano.
Gala and Cassano, the sons, got into hot water together several years ago as EMTs working on Staten Island, sources said.
More recently, Cassano, a probationary Bravest, made headlines in June for a drunken night in Lake Como, N.J. He allegedly entered a stranger's closed garage and went to sleep — after pooping on the man's lawn furniture.
Although he was a probationary firefighter at the time, Cassano was allowed to return to full duty after a 30day suspension.
In 2013, Cassano quit the FDNY's Emergency Medical Service after he was caught posting a string of hateful comments against minorities and women on his personal Twitter account during his first year on the job.
The EMT's vile tweets included: “I like Jews about as much as hitler #toofar? NOPE.”
He also wrote, “Getting sick of picking up all these Obama lovers and taking them to the hospital because their medicare pays for an ambulance and not a cab.”
Because he quit before he was fired, Cassano was allowed to rejoin the EMS in 2016, and take the firefighter exam. He graduated from the Fire Academy on April 18.