A city firefighter awaiting trial for growing marijuana plants is a reputed member of a notorious Queens-based gang called "The Master Race," the Daily News has learned. The feds identified Patrick Murray as a member of the group, which is responsible for maintaining "grow houses" throughout Queens for more than a decade, according to court papers unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Murray, a six-year-veteran of the FDNY, was busted in February 2009 after cops received an anonymous tip about someone loading marijuana grow lights into a van outside a house in Queens Village. More than 100 pot plants valued at $500,000 were found in the basement of the rented house.

In an affidavit filed by Drug Enforcement Administration agent Diette Ridgeway, the firefighter is alleged to be a "TMR member." Murray is scheduled to go on trial this month on drug conspiracy charges.

"He is not a member of any organization except the Fire Department of New York City," defense lawyer Lee Ginsberg said yesterday. The feds have interviewed numerous snitches who revealed "The Master Race" was founded as a graffiti and street gang in the mid-1980s "before graduating to more violent crimes such as auto theft, robberies and primarily the manufacture and distribution of hydroponic marijuana," according to the affidavit.

The gang is composed of "crews" supervised by "captains" who nominate trusted associates for membership in the illicit operation. A second city firefighter connected to the ring, Matthew Cody, and his brother, Michael, a city sanitation worker, pleaded guilty last year. Matthew Cody owned the house where Murray was arrested.

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