New York City firefighter grew over 100 marijuana plants, endangered kids living over drug den: prosecutor

John Marzulli New York Daily News 08/23/2010 15:11

Patrick Murray, pictured in 2009, is a city firefighter accused of growing over 100 marijuana plants.

A city firefighter was caught "red-handed" tending more than 100 marijuana plants - each worth $5,000 - in the basement of a Queens house, a prosecutor said Monday

Monday.

Patrick Murray was not only running an illegal drug operation, but he was also endangering three young kids living above the drug den, exposing them to harmful fumes from powerful chemical fertilizers and carbon dioxide gas, said Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Soumya Dayananda.

"While most firefighters enter a house to save lives, the defendant entered this house to take care of business," Dayananda said in her opening statement to the jury.

Murray, a seven-year veteran of the FDNY, is also a reputed member of a notorious gang called "The Master Race" which is heavily involved in marijuana growing and trafficking, according to court papers.

Federal Judge John Gleeson has precluded any references to the firefighter's alleged gang affiliation.

Murray was nabbed by NYPD cops who were checking out an anonymous tip that marijuana was being grown in the rented house on 237th St. in Bellerose.

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