A Brooklyn judge has tossed out a lawsuit by an FDNY battalion chief who is one of several Bravest employees under investigation, accused of leaking new tips to The Post.
Rory Houton’s suit sought to quash an FDNY subpoena of his cell phone records, which investigators want in order to determine if he leaked any information or gave it to someone else who released it.
In his decision released Tuesday, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice David Schmidt wrote that the FDNY has the authority to subpoena the records and that it provided a “legitimate basis for its investigation” because the confidential information that was disclosed is a violation of FDNY regulations.
The investigation centers on two Post articles — one about a firefighter who failed a drug test and was barred from driving department vehicles, and another on a female recruit who graduated from the fire academy despite not passing a required running test.
Houton’s lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn last July, said the FDNY’s investigation violated his First Amendment rights.
He’s denied leaking the information to the Post.
Law department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci said the ruling reinforces that the FDNY is “explicitly authorized to issue investigative subpoenas.”
Houton’s attorney Herbert Teitelbaum said, “We are studying the decision and discussing next steps with our client.”
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