At the same time, investigators acknowledged there were no indications the officers had an improper relationship with the bar, accepted free drinks or that on-duty drinking abuse was prevalent in the precinct.
Rather than indulge in the off-duty drinking and womanising of the other six, he pursued a punishing physical regime.
In the ensuing years, there were embarrassing incidents: the firefighters who had sex with a woman at one Bronx firehouse, a drunken brawl at another in Staten Island, on-duty drinking and drug use.
The report, which was released yesterday, details on-duty drinking and a cover-up in which some of the men would admit only to seeing "red liquid with fruit" or "a golden liquid".
Over the last year, the department has been besieged by a string of embarrassing -- and at times criminal -- encounters ranging from a drunken firehouse brawl on Staten Island on New Year's Eve, when a firefighter was bashed in the head with a metal folding chair, to a series of high-profile cases involving on-duty drinking and drug use.
In the last year, the department has been mired in scandal, from an alcohol-fueled brawl in a Staten Island firehouse in which one firefighter smashed a chair on another's head to a series of episodes involving on-duty drinking and drug use.
The episode in the Bronx has infuriated leaders of a department already reeling from a string of high-profile incidents involving on-duty drinking and drug use by firefighters, and Mr. Scoppetta has made clear that the Bronx commanders will be held accountable.
While the Russians are known for their heavy-duty drinking – although they're moving from vodka to beer and wine these days, perhaps to prevent liver death – this site is ingenious in that it offers a very simple, hangover-proof interface for registering how much you sucked down.
One night, I was in there off-duty, drinking beers and watching movies with my girlfriend, when Boris came up to me.
Nonetheless, investigators were left with examining how Officer Gray could have thought he could report for duty after drinking all day.
