Dude, where’s my car?
A high-ranking FDNY chief’s gadget-filled department SUV was stolen from his own driveway — one day after he was promoted and issued the city vehicle.
The black 2008 Ford Expedition assigned to Chief of Fire Operations James Esposito was jacked from in front of his home in Howard Beach, Queens, on Aug. 31, setting off a citywide search.
The unmarked SUV with official plates was loaded with “highly sensitive equipment,” such as a department computer and lights and sirens, said cop and fire sources. But it was not equipped with GPS to track its whereabouts.
Observers fretted about it falling into the wrong hands.
“Not all that funny when you think about the potential this vehicle could have in a terrorist attack,” one member of the rank-and-file wrote on the unofficial FDNY Rant online message board.
The Ford was “recovered several days later,” an FDNY spokesman said.
An NYPD patrol car using a plate reader spotted the SUV legally parked and intact in Manhattan, a police source said.
Like other department brass, Esposito needs the car in the event of an emergency, the spokesman said.
Cops joked about a the FDNY’s No. 3 boss being assigned a vehicle that’s 4 years old.
“It must be really hard times in the city,” said one.