New York City garbage man forced to retire over $20 tip

NEW YORK – A New York City sanitation worker has been forced to take early retirement for accepting a $20 tip while on the job, CBS New York reports.

A neighbor gave 56-year-old Lenworth Dixon the tip for helping remove a large amount of furniture and other trash in front of her home in the borough of Queens in September, according to New York City radio station1010 WINS.

According to the New York City charter, public servants are forbidden to accept gratuities for performing any official duty. City rules don’t differentiate between a bribe and a tip.

The 25-year veteran city sanitation worker was forced to retire from his $73,000-a-year job and pay a $1,500 fine.

“He’s not a thief, you know, they could give him a warning, but to fire him? This sounds like a set up,” Dixon’s landlady Erma McPhatter told 1010 WINS. “Something’s wrong there.”

McPhatter said Dixon told her he would move south in April.

Dixon could not immediately be reached for comment.