New York City -
A Port Authority cop who appeared on the hit TV show Queer Eye is being investigated for letting two of the Fab 5 use his uniform.
Officer John Verdi, 29, went on the show in the hopes of changing his shabby straight image. The Episode which aired earlier in the week on Bravo is on NBC tonight at 10 ET.
During the show two of the "Fab 5," Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley, put on Verdi's uniform while on a tour of his Staten Island apartment.
Port Authority police make sure the airports in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are safe. Verdi's bosses think that letting two of the gay designers wear his uniform detracts from the seriousness of the job.
"We are looking into the matter,'' Port Authority spokesman Greg Trevor told the New York Daily News. Trevor said Verdi not only should not have let civilians wear the uniform, he didn't get clearance to say he was a police officer on television.
"It was good entertainment,'' Port Authority Police Benevolent Association President Gus Danese told the News. The PABA is the union which represents Verdi.
"What he did, he did on his own time. He didn't portray the Port Authority in a bad light. It was harmless.
"The Port Authority has got to lighten up and take it for what it was: entertainment."
On the show, the style team took Verdi to have a pedicure, gave his pale feet a spray tan and taught him how to cook a quiche for his vegetarian girlfriend.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Verdi could be disciplined or even fired.
by Doug Windsor
365Gay.com Newscenter
New York Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2003
Related Article: "Queer Eye" Widens Audience
Officer John Verdi, 29, went on the show in the hopes of changing his shabby straight image. The Episode which aired earlier in the week on Bravo is on NBC tonight at 10 ET.
During the show two of the "Fab 5," Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley, put on Verdi's uniform while on a tour of his Staten Island apartment.
Port Authority police make sure the airports in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are safe. Verdi's bosses think that letting two of the gay designers wear his uniform detracts from the seriousness of the job.
"We are looking into the matter,'' Port Authority spokesman Greg Trevor told the New York Daily News. Trevor said Verdi not only should not have let civilians wear the uniform, he didn't get clearance to say he was a police officer on television.
"It was good entertainment,'' Port Authority Police Benevolent Association President Gus Danese told the News. The PABA is the union which represents Verdi.
"What he did, he did on his own time. He didn't portray the Port Authority in a bad light. It was harmless.
"The Port Authority has got to lighten up and take it for what it was: entertainment."
On the show, the style team took Verdi to have a pedicure, gave his pale feet a spray tan and taught him how to cook a quiche for his vegetarian girlfriend.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Verdi could be disciplined or even fired.
by Doug Windsor
365Gay.com Newscenter
New York Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2003
Related Article: "Queer Eye" Widens Audience
This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.
