Firefighter Arroyo given 48 hours to corroborate back injury

August 19, 2008 04:21 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Boston firefighter Albert Arroyo (left) arrived at fire department headquarters this afternoon with his attorney.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Boston firefighter Albert Arroyo was given 48 hours this afternoon to produce new evidence to corroborate what he has claimed was a career-ending back injury after he met with top department officials for an hour behind closed doors.

Arroyo pleaded his case for his disability pension before a three-member panel that included Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser, who has accused him of shopping for a doctor who would sign off on the injury. Arroyo competed in a bodybuilding contest six weeks after he reported suffering a fall in a fire station that he said prevented him from working as an inspector.

Attorney Neil Osborne vigorously defended Arroyo after the hearing, telling reporters that his client never lied about his injury. Arroyo's bodybuilding routine was part of a rehabilitation program the lawyer said was recommended by a personal trainer to mend his ailing back.

"Mr. Arroyo has done absolutely nothing wrong," Osborne said. "There has been a swirl of information … based on being seen in a bodybuilding video that he has somehow committed fraud. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"All that Mr. Arroyo did was try to get better," Osborne said.

Dressed in a dark suit, Arroyo walked past a crowd of reporters waiting outside department headquarters and declined to comment. In addition to Fraser, the three-member panel also included Karen Glasgow, deputy commissioner for labor and legal affairs, and Michael Doherty, chief of personnel.

Fraser ordered Arroyo to return to work when reports surfaced that he had been training and competing in a bodybuilding competition, despite collecting a tax-free salary from the city while the Boston Retirement Board considered his disability application.

When Arroyo refused to return to work, Fraser declared the firefighter voluntarily separated from the department and ended his employment. The Boston Retirement Board rejected Arroyo's disability pension application on Aug. 4, saying it was incomplete.

Arroyo has appealed the voluntary separation declaration, but his lawyer has said the firefighter will not return to work until cleared by his doctor.