Monday, July 14, 2008

Firehouse fraud

Boston Globe: "On injury leave, firefighter stood out as bodybuilder"

For Boston firefighter Albert Arroyo, March and April were ostensibly rough months. He reported falling on March 21 and suffering a back injury so severe that, a few weeks later, his doctor wrote that Arroyo should be granted an accidental disability retirement because he is "totally and permanently disabled."

Yet, on May 3, after being out of work for six weeks and collecting his full salary tax-free, Arroyo achieved a remarkable feat: He finished eighth in a men's bodybuilding competition, the 2008 Pro Natural American Championships.
The Globe had previously reported that a suspiciously large number of Boston firefighters were injured on the very day they were filling in for absent superiors, resulting in a supplemental pension payout of about $10,000/year.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you to the Unions for this kind of Crappola. It fits right in with the Socialist mindset they espouse. It is why the Dems always court the union vote.

skeneogden said...

I know a lot of firefighters here in So. Cal. and the same thing is happening here. A disturbing percentage of firefighters file claims for disability just before retirement to pad their after employment paychecks.

I suppose it is just an artifact of the entitlement mentality. The public employee pension systems are going to break the bank sooner or later.