MTA Suspends Metro-North Employee for Calling Out Sick to Attend Capitol Riot
A Metro-North employee out of Putnam County will face disciplinary action after he called out sick from work and was seen in the mob storming the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Will Pepe, a seven-year laborer at Metro-North’s Brewster rail yard, was suspended without pay and is under FBI investigation after MTA officials saw footage of him infiltrating the Capitol on the same day he called in sick, The New York Post reported. Storming the Capitol is a violation of federal law.
“Effective immediately this individual has been suspended from Metro-North without pay and will be disciplined in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement pending an investigation,” MTA spokesman Ken Lovett said in a statement to The Post. “This alleged conduct is abhorrent and goes against the values of Metro-North, New York and the nation.”
Pepe, a 31-year-old Beacon resident, was part of a mob of Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol while Congress was in the midst of certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election win, causing widespread damage, and sending the nation’s capital into lockdown. The riot also resulted in five fatalities.
Pepe’s photo was one of many released by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the FBI in a mass effort to identify suspects. Pepe is currently wanted for unlawful entry, according to DC Police.
The FBI is asking anyone who recognizes someone from the wanted posters or who witnessed any of Wednesday’s activity to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit information online here.
