Boston Disability Fraudsters Charged

THE SUMMER OF 2008 SAW AN INVESTIGATION launched into some dubious practices taking place in the Boston Fire Department retirement and medical offices after a firefighter applied for a full-disability pension for an injured back. Within days of his pension application being submitted, Albert Arroyo appeared in a body-building competition looking the picture of health. After refusing to submit to another medical evaluation, he was fired from the FD.

This video report from WCVB-TV Ch. 5 covers Arroyo’s travails:

The spotlight also shone on James Famolare who had been out on injury leave for two years claiming that he had permanently injured his back from moving a box of personnel files in the office. While on injury leave, FF’s salaries are tax-free giving Famolare a windfall of $300,000 salary with no deductions. Both men were deemed permanently disabled and cleared for their retirements by the same neurologist, Dr. John Mahoney who has cleared dozens of FF’s seeking a disability retirement.

The investigation made headlines later that winter when the FBI showed up and sealed all the records in the FD medical office and began their own investigation into the entire retirement operation.

This Monday the U. S. Attorney’s office along with the FBI Boston field office announced via a press release that the two aforementioned retirees have been charged along with a civilian clerk who worked in the retirement office, with several counts of fraud and perjury.

The Boston Globe has the details of the charges along with a copy of the U. S. Attorney’s press release HERE.

See Firegeezer’s report on the original grand jury probe HERE that gives some outrageous examples such as the district chief who boosted his retirement payment by $26,000 a year from tripping in a puddle while filling in at a higher rand for a few hours.

Firegeezer adds: When this story broke 15 months ago, the Mayor’s office made it sound like everybody who was getting disability pay were fiddling the system, whereas the union claimed that it was being overstated. After the big investigation and the sweep by the FBI, all they have to show for it (so far) are these three arrests. It will be interesting to see if any more indictments come out of this.

Also on FireGeezer…

Fraudster’s Mansion Burns in Milwaukee – December 27, 2009
Phantom Medic Earns $53,000 – October 22, 2009

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Dave LeBlanc

A couple of other points...

While your salary is tax free if and when you go back to work, it becomes taxed income at the end of that year.

Massachusetts is on a pension witch hunt. Not just Boston, but statewide. We constantly hear about how the employees are screwing the system, yet no one hears about the Firefighter forced into 10 more weeks of rehab because the Town's Injury Management Company and the Doctor couldn't agree on a surgery price. 10 weeks that could have devoted to recovery (it was a clear case of needed surgery) but instead were wasted until the Town and Doctor reached an agreement.

Another little treat by the legislature. Your pension benefits are now based on when the injury was reported. Typically your normal retirement is based on an average of your high three years of salary, OT is not included in that calculation. I believe your 72% injury retirement is based on your last year. Now the law says if you are injured in 1985 come back to work and then ultimately retire from that injury, your benefits are based on that salary.

Are there cases of injury/disability fraud? Obviously. Are thay as rampant as the State and the City make us think thay are. No way.

http://firefightthesmears.com/2009/09/14/the-tr...

That link it to the Local 718 website be used to counter some of the "facts" being put out by Menino Administration. It points to an article about the "King for the Day" policy that allowed the District Chief to put in for the hire pension.