A Bronze Star recipient accused in a West Side gay bashing has been punished by the military and stripped of his rank, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn confirmed Wednesday. Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Ford, a master at defusing bombs, accepted the charges against him rather than face a court-martial, said victim Blake Hayes, who was informed of the punishment by an Air Force Lt. colonel. Ford, who the NYPD tracked down at an Air Force base outside London, was docked pay for September 2009 – the month during which he taunted and roughed up Hayes, 24, and two pals outside a Hell’s Kitchen pub.

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