Jul 22, 2008 5:46 pm US/Eastern
Bodybuilding Firefighter Waiting For Dr. Approval
Albert Arroyo Did Not Show Up To Work Monday or Tuesday
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
A Boston firefighter ordered back to work from disability - after video surfaced of him in a bodybuilding competition - will not be returning to work anytime soon. That's according to Albert Arroyo's attorney, who sent a letter to city declaring his client's personal physician has not cleared him to return to duty.
Fire Commissioner Roderick Frazer ordered Arroyo to return to his job Monday as a fire inspector. He did not show up Monday, and failed to show up again on Tuesday.
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.
The city stopped paying Arroyo once he failed to report to work on Monday.
"He did not report to work, so he's off the payroll," said Mayor Menino.
According to city rules, Arroyo has 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.
Sources tell WBZ that Arroyo sought medical treatment at a local hospital on Monday for stress. He was not admitted to the hospital.
Meanwhile Menino has ordered a review of fire department records to determine if some doctors have diagnosed large numbers of firefighters with work-related injuries. He is looking for suspicious patterns in which some physicians may have "disproportionately diagnosed disabilities."
Menino also called on state retirement officials to re-examine disability claims from retired Boston firefighters who were diagnosed by Arroyo's neurologist, Dr. John Mahoney. Documents obtained by WBZ show Mahoney recommended 25 firefighters receive permanent disability pensions since 2001. At least 19 of those, including Arroyo, were approved.
Mahoney has not returned several calls from WBZ.
His attorney, Paul Cirel, issued a statement Tuesday saying his client "never disabled a single firefighter." Cirel called Mahoney a "superb neurologist," and said he was one of several people involved in the process of determining a disability.
(© 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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