A trainee firefighter has been given the boot after boasting he was once a contract killer for a drugs gang.
Zac Gonzalez Rostro was just six weeks into his training programme with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service when his wild claims sparked an investigation.
He had been telling fellow trainees at the Bury centre about his podcast appearances where he alleged to have murdered more than 70 people as part of an LA gang. When quizzed by fire service investigators, he admitted his shocking stories were fabricated purely to earn cash from podcasts, reports the Manchester Evening News.
During one podcast, he boasted of killing “more than 70” people and claimed that after one murder, gang members used a victim’s severed head as a basketball. In another episode, he declared: “I was introduced to the killing game. You give me a pistol, you give me a rifle and I will do my job.”
He detailed how he was running with a gang in Los Angeles and moved up from “home invasions” – break-ins in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, to drive-by shootings. He alleged he used a revolver in his first shooting “as it does not leave a casing”.
He also spoke of “spraying” homes with bullets and claimed to have witnessed children as young as eight carrying firearms. He stated: “I like the adrenalin. I wanted to join the Marines but I joined something else.”
Speaking about his alleged “gang-related” youth, he added: “You basically stick with your own race. You are always looking behind your back. I have seen kids pull out guns at the age of eight. You start getting a full sense of the danger you are in from around the age of 12. I have seen young kids, they have nothing else but the gang you know. Their parents are dead, or dad’s in prison, mom in rehab. They have nothing.
“We would do a lot of home invasion, like rob. I’ve never been a fan of selling drugs, but I have been a fan of getting money.”
Rostro, who revealed in a podcast that his mother is Mexican, appeared before a disciplinary panel on Friday.
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Deputy Chief Officer Carlos Meakin explained: “We were recently made aware of serious allegations against an apprentice firefighter.
“We moved quickly to suspend the apprentice while we investigated the allegations. Our investigation is now complete, and following a hearing this afternoon the apprentice has been dismissed.
“Public safety is our top priority alongside the safety and welfare of our staff. Before recruiting the apprentice in question, we carried out enhanced national DBS checks, as we do for all potential recruits, as well as an international criminal records check. These did not flag any areas of concern.
“We also checked the applicant’s social media as part of our screening process, but as he used a pseudonym online, we were not aware of the content which came to light this week.
“We hold our staff to the highest standards and will not tolerate attitudes or behaviours that goes against our values. Within 20 minutes of the allegations being reported to us we had launched an investigation, the apprentice firefighter was suspended the same day, and we concluded our investigation within 72 hours.
“We’re supporting staff who have been affected by this issue.”
The M.E.N. understands that GMFRS carried out an enhanced DBS check and international criminal records checks before employing the apprentice in question. These did not raise any red flags.
Fire bosses said the apprentice “had the right to work in the UK and provided all relevant visas and documentation.”
The service maintains it “will always take swift action to investigate any reports of attitudes or behaviours that go against our values.”
An inquiry was launched within 20 minutes of the trainee’s allegations. Rostro was amongst around 30 recruits participating in the programme.
