Cops nab Bravest on crack

AN OFF-DUTY city firefighter who has been struggling with addiction for about five years was arrested in Staten Island with eight vials of crack on him, officials and relatives said Wednesday.

Cops took Firefighter Jonathan Carbone, 37, into custody in Travis about noon on Tuesday as they investigated a previous drug overdose along the West Shore Expressway near Glen St.

He allegedly had a crack pipe on him, in addition to the drugs.

Cops charged Carbone with drug possession and gave him a desk appearance ticket. He’s due back in court May 10.

In the meantime, he was entered into a program that steers low-level drug offenders into treatment instead of jail, sources said.

Carbone, a 13-year veteran of the FDNY, became addicted to painkillers after hurting his back about five years ago. He’s been in rehab at least three times, relatives said. Through it all, he remained with the FDNY, although he’s been given a desk assignment.

He had also been arrested in 2000 — before he became a firefighter — but the case was sealed, law enforcement sources said.

The FDNY is expected to suspend him because of Tuesday’s arrest.

One relative said that Carbone is in a five-week rehab program.

“It’s really sad,” said the family member, who wished not to be named. “His wife is about four or five months pregnant. He has really been trying to put his life back together.”

Neighbors were learn of his arrest.

“You’re kidding me,” said one neighbor who didn’t want to be named. “I mean, he’s walking around. He’s not walking in slow motion.”

Police said Carbone was given an appearance ticket because of the small amount of narcotics he had on him — although some questioned if everybody would have been afforded the same courtesy.

Desk appearance tickets “should be used for all low-level drug offenses, but this incident calls into question whether he’d be sitting in jail if he were black,” said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Lieberman likened Carbone’s case to marijuana arrests across the city, where 86% of last year’s apprehensions were of people of color, even though white people use the drug at similar rates. stunned to