The boneheaded pizza deliveryman caught on security cameras scratching his cheesy tag into a Brooklyn Heights elevator has confessed to the vandalism, a police source told The Brooklyn Paper.
Cops say the defendant, Mohammed Ali, was caught carving “Dizzy CFM” into the wood-paneling of a Livingston Street apartment building between Court and Clinton streets on Oct. 17 — and the story was front-page news last week.
Ali, a former employee of Papa John’s, was collared within a week of the crime and he promptly confessed, said a source at the 84th Precinct.
“He was very remorseful,” the source said.
Perhaps so, but Ali’s lawyer said that her client has not pleaded guilty to the caught-on-camera crime.
“It’s not likely that he’ll comment because it could affect the case,” said Ali’s attorney, Megan Foley.
The man behind the “Dizzy CFM” scratchiti also did not respond when The Paper offered to become an online “friend” through Ali’s Myspace.com page.
That social networking site did reveal a trove of information about the suspect, including some fleet footwork in a dance video.
The accused vandal will be back in criminal court on Jan. 26 and it’s unclear if his lawyer will instruct him to adopt a rope-a-dope style of defense, like the prizefighter who shares his name, or do something the ex-champ never did — take a dive.
Meanwhile, the rental building’s owner where Ali was filmed scratching his alter ego in the elevator is still pressing for $3,200 in damages from the Papa John’s branch on Livingston Street where the deliveryman worked.
Some lawyers say that a judge is unlikely to hold the franchise owner responsible for his former deliveryman’s alleged misconduct, but the landlord says he’s been advised that his complaint will hold up in court.
“Papa John’s hired him, he was their agent,” said Michael Cantor, the owner.
