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NEW YORK - A New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) employee has been arrested for making abusive, profane, and threatening calls to two customers who had contacted the agency about their water usage bills.
Police say Lamont Jackson, 50, of the Bronx, called the customers from a blocked number after speaking with the customers in his capacity as a customer service representative.
In the calls, which were made in July and September 2022, Jackson allegedly used profanities and, in one case, threatened the customer, indicating that he knew the customer's address saying, "Watch when I catch you."
During his arrest on Wednesday, Jackson was found with eight glassiness of cocaine, leading to a charge of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree. He has been arraigned on three counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, and released on his recognizance. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison.
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said that Jackson's "disturbing and harassing behavior is unacceptable under any circumstances, but particularly for a City employee charged with responding to questions from members of the public."