This MTA worker tried to take his bosses for a ride.
A transit system cleaner was apparently so desperate for a vacation he lied about getting slashed on the job — going so far as to cut his own hands to try to sell the ruse, according to prosecutors.
“My goal was to have the summer off because it was too hot down there,” Henry Herring, 54, allegedly told investigators after the hoax was exposed.
Herring, who was hired as a transit cleaner last year and has since been suspended without pay by the MTA, was arrested on a charge of falsely reporting an incident last week.
According to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court, Herring told cops from the 107th precinct on July 31 that he was attacked at the 179th Street subway station in Jamaica shortly after 3 a.m. that morning.
He claimed that he was cleaning a train car when he was “pushed from behind by an unknown male” and that the stranger “swung a cutting instrument” at him, leaving cuts on both of his hands, according to the complaint.
But surveillance video from the station helped to catch Herring red-handed.
“When I went into the room I found something in there to cut myself,” he allegedly admitted to cops after being confronted with the footage.
“I apologize for wasting everyone’s time,” he said. “I did not know that there were cameras on the platform.”
Herring was arraigned Sunday and released without bail pending a return to court on Oct. 8.
“Assaults on MTA employees are a real issue and the NYPD has made real progress identifying and capturing perpetrators,” MTA Communication Director Tim Mitton said in a statement.
“What’s alleged in this case is beyond disappointing,” Minton said, “pulling resources from investigations of actual crimes while undermining confidence in the safety of the transit system.”
The Local 100 of the Transit Workers Union had posted on X expressing outrage over the “attack” on a member following the allegedly phony July 31 assault report by Herring.
“At ~ 3:45 a.m., a member was slashed on both hands defending himself from assault while on duty. He is now recovering at home,” the post signed by union President Richard Davis said. “MTA is failing to protect us. Despite crime stats, our safety remains at risk due to erratic behavior throughout the system.”
The union declined to comment on Monday.
According to correction records, Herring has run afoul of the law before — he did two stints in upstate prisons.
He served 14 years behind bars on a slew of robbery and weapons charges dating to 2007. He was released in 2021 and only came off parole in May, after he was hired by the MTA, the records show.
He also spent less than six months on an earlier robbery conviction and was released in January 1990, the records show.
Herring could not be reached directly for comment Monday.
Queens Defenders, which is representing Herring, said the organization does not comment on open cases.
