Cushy FDNY $$ exit for ‘reckless’ pilot
The pilot of the FDNY fireboat that collided with another vessel and killed a visiting Belgian firefighter has quietly retired on a boosted, three-quarters-pay disability pension worth six figures annually, The Post has learned.
Firefighter Thomas Waller, who retired this month after 22 years on the job, will collect a taxexempt pension of at least $110,000 yearly. His cushy exit comes on the heels of a damning Coast Guard probe that cited the pilot’s reckless operation and “unsafe speed” in Marine 1 Bravo’s 2022 crash that fatally injured Johnny Beernaert.
The tragedy occurred after retired FDNY Capt. Stephen Lonergan showed up at the Marine 1 pier in Manhattan at 9 p.m on June 17, and asked to take the fireboat on a sightseeing jaunt to the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge with Beernaert, 54, and both their wives. The commanding officer at the pier assigned Waller to pilot the trip.
Marine 1 Bravo zoomed along the East River at a top speed of 28 mph, as a chartered pleasure boat, “Honcho,” cruised nearby, going 6 mph, according to the Coast Guard’s report.
Beernaert died of “blunt force injuries” to the head when the Honcho T-boned the fireboat, its bow ramming into the cabin where the guests were enjoying the view. The others were treated for minor injuries. Under FDNY pension rules, disability benefits for accidental injuries in the line of duty cannot be collected as the result of a retiree’s “own negligence.” FDNY retirees normally qualify for a pension based on half the annual average of their last three years of salaries. A disability pension pays 75%.
It’s unknown what medical problem Waller claimed to trigger his disability pension. Many firefighters retire on disability because of lung ailments. FDNY spokespersons refused to explain his injuries.
Waller, a lieutenant and a battalion chief — all on duty the night of the crash — were assigned to desk duties and/or transferred out of the FDNY’s marine division. None were slapped with disciplinary charges, which could be grounds to deny a disability pension.
“If you ask me, he’s being rewarded,” a fellow FDNY retiree said of Waller, adding members who receive a disability pension after 20 years with the department can take an outside job. “He could work for another boat company.”
Beernaert, a sergeant in the Belgium army and father of two, had planned to retire in a year.
His widow, Heidi Vermandel, is suing both the city and New York City Boat Tours, which owned the Honcho, in Brooklyn federal court.
Waller’s attorney did not return a request for comment.