FDNY chaplain's signature forged on letter backing Queens pot dispensary
The owners of a legal Queens marijuana dispensary are under fire for allegedly trying to dupe government officials to back their expansion efforts — by claiming the FDNY's top religious leader is high on the plan.
A recently circulated letter supporting Astoria-based Terp Bros' application to open a second dispensary in Ozone Park that was 'purportedly authored and signed' by FDNY Chaplain Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, 'appears to be a forgery,' warned FDNY Deputy Commissioner of General Counsel Don Nguyen in a June 5 letter to Queens Community Board 10.
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The FDNY has 'no position' in general on applications to run cannabis dispensaries in the Big Apple, he added in the letter, obtained by The Post.
3 FDNY Chaplain Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello told The Post he wasn't aware of the letter.
Stefano Giovannini
The bogus letter addressed to 'legislators, Community Boards and the NYS Office of Cannabis Management' claimed Gigantiello is pushing Terp Bros' plan because 'safe use of Hemp and other Cannabis plants is long overdue.'
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'We must help those like Terp Bros gain the opportunity to continue working with the community in providing them with a safe, legal way to purchase cannabis and cannabis-related products,' the faux holy man wrote.
Terp Bros' co-owners Jeremy Rivera and Alessandro Cottone opened their pot shop at 3610 Ditmars Blvd. in October 2023. In April, Time Out magazine ranked it New York's ninth best weed dispensary out the state's 405 licensed cannabis shops.
The letter tries to portray Rivera — an ex-con who spent 11 years in jail for criminal possession of controlled substances and robbery — as a sympathetic figure.
3 Jeremy Rivera and Alessandro Cottone opened their Astoria pot shop in October 2023 and earlier this year, Time Out magazine ranked it New York's ninth best weed dispensary out the state's 405 licensed cannabis shops.
Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock
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He, 'his family, and many others like him have paid a great price caused by wrongful and failed policy targeting minorities and the failed war on drugs as it pertains to hemp and other cannabis,' it reads.
Gigantiello insisted to The Post he didn't write or authorize the letter — and never even heard of the weed joint until learning of the letter.
'I had no idea. Someone shouldn't be using using my name in any form,' added the monsignor, who made headlines two years after being relieved of his administrative duties for allowing pop star Sabrina Carpenter to film a racy music video inside Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-Annunciation Parish in Williamsburg.
3 Owners of the popular shop didn't respond to messages seeking comment.
Helayne Seidman
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The board rejected the pot shop's application in January — and said it didn't get the letter until only a few weeks ago. Board members showed the letter to NYC Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who alerted the Fire Department.
'It's very telling that someone would fake a letter from a monsignor because they couldn't deal with the results of a community board vote,' Ariola said.
'If they didn't like the way the board voted, I get it, but forging a letter from an FDNY chaplain is the absolute worst way to try and change their opinion.'
The state's Office of Cannabis Management will ultimately decide whether to approve the plan.
Messages left for Terp Bros' owners were not returned.
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