Fireman arrested in sting operation
Was among six charged with soliciting sex
An undercover Boston police operation to discourage prostitution near the Dorchester-Roxbury line Friday snared a man identified as a Boston firefighter, officials said.
An officer disguised as a prostitute was standing at a public parking lot near Blue Hill Avenue and La Grange Place at about 10:50 p.m. Friday when Collin M. Herelle pulled up in his white Cadillac and offered the officer $29 for a sex act, according to police. The undercover officer signaled to other officers nearby, who moved in and arrested Herelle, said Officer Eddy Chrispin, a Boston police spokesman.
Herelle, who is 44, lives in Dorchester. A spokesman for the Boston Fire Department confirmed yesterday that Herelle is an active firefighter who has served six years with the department. The spokesman, Steve MacDonald, could not immediately identify the station where Herelle works or provide other details of his service. City records show that Herelle earned nearly $98,000 in gross pay last year.
Police charged Herelle with soliciting sex for a fee. Officers also seized his car, a 2004 Cadillac wagon, for 48 hours and issued a $300 citation for using the vehicle to solicit a prostitute, in accordance with a Boston ordinance, police said. Herelle will be arraigned Tuesday in Roxbury District Court on the solicitation charge, Chrispin said.
MacDonald said it's most likely Herelle will be allowed to work while his case continues. Department protocol calls for a firefighter in this situation to tell his or her commanding officer, who notifies the commissioner's office, MacDonald said. The department makes a case-by-case determination in situations like this after the legal matter is resolved in court, he said. Because of the holiday weekend, it was unclear yesterday whether Herelle had notified superiors, MacDonald said.
Multiple calls placed to a number listed for Herelle were not returned yesterday. Edward Kelly, president of the firefighters union, said he didn't know Herelle but thought the incident could be a sign of stress from the contentious contract dispute between the city and the firefighters.
"I think that the pressures of working without a contract are beginning to manifest in the darndest ways," said Kelly, president of Local 718.
The antiprostitution sweep, conducted by officers from District B-2 in Dorchester and Roxbury and dubbed "Operation Squeeze," also netted five others, who were charged with soliciting sex for a fee: Angel M. Gonzalez, 36, of Dorchester; Andreas Markoupolos, 44, of Worcester; Dwaine E. Brittle, 26, of Roxbury; Galvon F. Mosley, 36, of Boston; and David Asiedu, 26, of Mattapan, according to police.
Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com. 