A trainee firefighter has been dismissed after shocking colleagues by boasting of killing ‘more than 70 people’ – as a Los Angeles crime cartel hitman. Zac Gonzalez Rostro was six weeks into a training course with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) when his strange boasts triggered an investigation.
He had told colleagues at the training centre in Bury of his appearances on podcasts in which he claims to have killed over 70 people as a member of an LA gang. But in interviews with fire service investigators he tried to explain away the boasts, by stressing his claims were made up – just to make money from ‘true crime’ podcasts.
In one podcast he claims to have killed “more than 70” people and that after one killing, gang members played basketball with a victim’s decapitated head.
In another, he says: “I was introduced to the killing game. You give me a pistol, you give me a rifle and I will do my job.”
He described how he was running with a gang in LA and progressed from “home invasions” – burglaries – in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, to drive-by shootings.
He also claimed he used a revolver in his first shooting “as it does not leave a casing” and boasted of “spraying” homes with bullets – claiming to have seen children as young as eight armed with guns.
He said: “I like the adrenalin. I wanted to join the Marines but I joined something else.”
He added of his “gang-related” youth: “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 in a podcast says his mother is Mexican, faced a disciplinary hearing last Friday but GMFRS said he was dismissed from the fire apprenticeship course. Rostro was one of about 30 recruits taking part in the course.
Deputy Chief Officer, Carlos Meakin, said: “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.”
DCO Meakin added: “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.”
It is understood GMFRS undertook an enhanced DBS check and international criminal records checks prior to hiring the apprentice in question. These did not flag any concerns.
Fire chiefs said the apprentice “had the right to work in the UK and provided all relevant visas and documentation.”
The service insists it “will always take swift action to investigate any reports of attitudes or behaviours that go against our values.”