An ex-FDNY firefighter-turned-OnlyFans model was thrown behind bars Thursday for allegedly drunkenly mowing down a young airport worker in Queens — a shock move that drew raucous cheers and applause from the victim’s family in court.
“Put the cuffs on him!” someone shouted from the gallery of Queens Supreme Court as Michael Pena had his bail revoked in the February wreck that killed Justin Cruz, 23.
More than 50 people from Cruz’s side crowded the courtroom to watch as Pena — who moonlit as a hunky OnlyFans model — was slapped with a 14-count indictment, including manslaughter charges, for the Feb. 26 crash.
The beefy 28-year-old disgraced probationary smoke eater was speeding 83 mph in a 25 mph zone in his silver Mercedes S63 Coupe when he blew through a red light and struck Cruz’s vehicle, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Pena, who was fired from the FDNY last month, had been bar-hopping for hours before the deadly crash and had so much booze, cocaine and marijuana in his system that his blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit five hours after the wreck.
“I ran the light. I hit him,” Pena allegedly told cops at the scene, Queens Assistant District Attorney Vivian Gonzalez said in court. “I’m a firefighter. I T-boned him. The car is registered to me. The reg expired in January… It’s a great car.”
Prosecutors said the deadly crash was caught on multiple surveillance cameras and dashcam.
Pena — who was dressed to the nines in a charcoal gray suit, crisp white shirt and gold tie — had been free on bail, which was set at $50,000 in cash or a $100,000 bond after his arrest.
Prosecutors, however, argued on Thursday that Pena was a flight risk because he faced 15 years in prison, if convicted.
His attorney, Marvin Kornberg, tried in vain to keep his client out of the clink.
“He has ties to the community,” Kornberg told Judge Michael Hartofilis. “There is absolutely no need to change the bail. He lost his job. That’s the only thing that changed.”
But Hartofolis sided with prosecutors — causing the courtroom gallery to burst into applause and cheers — as a stunned Pena looked in disbelief.
“This was a heinous crime,” Diaz’s older brother, Franklin Diaz Jr., told reporters outside the courtroom. “The drugs, the alcohol, the speed, at what point do the new bail laws take into account such heinous disregard for human life? He has no regard.
“It was during his arraignment, he came out with a smirk on his face,” he added. “He tried to use his firefighter status to lessen what he did to my brother.”
Diaz was driving to work northbound on 107th Street shortly after 4 a.m. when Pena allegedly gunned the engine on his Mercedes S63 — which can run as much as $135,000 — blowing through a red light and slamming into Diaz’s car, killing the LaGuardia Airport worker, prosecutors said.
The victim had just graduated from college with a degree in aeronautics and was studying to be an airplane mechanic, his brother previously said.
Pena already had “multiple arrests,” including a Queens, Nassau County and New Jersey — for flashing a phony ID — and a string of traffic violations, including 25 for speeding between 2023 and this year, according to the DA’s office.
He ran an OnlyFans account under the handle “I’m Mike LV” and frequently posted shirtless shots of his chiseled abs and arms, charging more for “private content.”
“Feelin real fresh got some new content for y’all; message me to unlock the goods,” Pena posted on July 31, 2023. A photo posted on Nov. 19, 2022, gets precariously close to showing his privates as he flexes in a mirror while wearing a white towel on his lower half.
Outside the courtroom Thursday, Diaz’s father slammed Pena’s “depravity.”
“My son Justin will no longer have a future,” grieving dad Franklin Diaz said. “His future was just starting. His career was just starting to excel. He had just finished school. Justin was work, home, school.
“Justin had a future and that was stolen,” the elder Diaz said. “Snatched by Michael Pena.”
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