Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty has refused to fire a sanitation worker accused of taking part in a bribery scheme, citing three-co-workers who faced the same charge and gamed the system by quitting and collecting their pensions.

“This to me is not fair justice,” Doherty declared last month in an unusual decision sparing the job of Jeremy Bongiardina, 36, a rookie ensnared in a 2007 undercover sting operation.

Bongiardina and three others pleaded guilty to misdemeanors of either official misconduct or receiving unlawful gratuities in Brooklyn Supreme Court in 2010.

All but Bongiardina then put in their retirement papers to qualify for full 20-year pensions.

As a rookie with only two years in, Bongiardina had nowhere to go.

Judge Faye Lewis recommended termination even though Bongiardina didn’t take money.

Doherty overruled the judge and suspended Bongiardina for 30 days. He also yanked four weeks’ vacation time. Doherty indicated that the overriding issue for him was that the other three workers who were more culpable had escaped with full pensions.