Aug 4, 2008 12:59 pm US/Eastern
Arroyo Doesn't Return To Work
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Albert Arroyo, 46, reported that he fell down some stairs in the Jamaica Plain firehouse on March 21 and reinjured an old back problem.
WBZ
Bodybuilder firefighter Albert Arroyo did not report to work Monday morning as ordered and it could be the end of his career with the Boston Fire Department.
Arrroyo, 46, was ordered back to work from disability last month and the department vowed it would fire him if he didn't report to work Monday.
His shift as an inspector with the Fire Prevention Division started at 7 a.m. and he did not show up.
Department spokesman Steve MacDonald would not use the word "fired" Monday, but said the department believes he "voluntarily separated from his job." Arroyo has ten days to appeal.
Arroyo's attorney said last month Arroyo would not return to work until his doctor had cleared him.
Arroyo was ordered to return to work July 21 - several days after video surfaced of him in a bodybuilding competition. He never reported and the city and the state retirement board stopped paying him.
Arroyo was declared permanently disabled earlier this year, making him eligible for a disability pension. Two weeks later he competed in a bodybuilding competition. He collected his full $68,000 annual salary tax free for several weeks before video from that competition surfaced.
According to city rules, Arroyo had 14 days to show up or submit a valid explanation why he can't work. If those 14 days expire he can lose his job.
Mayor Menino said Arroyo is the poster boy for abuse of public funds and trust.
"This individual does epitomize some of the things we've been trying to get reforms on for many years. I think that's unfortunate," Menino said Monday.
"There's a lot of good firefighters in our city. But this gentleman continues to do his own thing."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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