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Menino: Bodybuilding Firefighter Should Quit
WBZ-TV Boston ^ | 7/21/08

Posted on 07/23/2008 6:15:07 AM PDT by DallasBiff

Menino: Bodybuilding Firefighter Should Quit Albert Arroyo Did Not Show Up To Work Monday BOSTON (WBZ) ― The Boston firefighter who claimed to be permanently disabled - but then competed in a body building contest was a no-show at work on Monday and now he might lose his job altogether.

Albert Arroyo was ordered to return to work by Fire Commissioner Roderick Frazer. He sent a letter to Arroyo late last week ordering his return to work on Monday. Arroyo did not show up for his shift and he did not contact anyone with a reason for his absence.

"The commissioner has been very clear on this," said fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald. "The commissioner feels that he can do his job, which is a fire inspector. That he does want him to come to work, and we did expect him at work today."

"He has not shown up to work and now the personnel chief is investigating why."

Arroyo, 46, reported that he fell down some stairs in the Jamaica Plain firehouse in March, flaring up an old back problem. His doctor wrote that Arroyo should be granted an accidental disability retirement because he is "permanently disabled."

Yet on May 3 after collecting his full $68,000 annual salary tax free for six weeks, Arroyo finished eighth in a bodybuilding competition.

"I think he should resign," Mayor Tom Menino told WBZ's Kathy Curran Monday.

(Excerpt) Read more at wbztv.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: corruption; firefighting; fraud; unions
A firefighter who has the perponderance of evidence showing he can still be on the job as a fire inspector and was ordered back to work should quit, according to Boston mayor.

Boston is so effed up. Amazing how the Mayor bows to the unions and doesn't fire the firefighter outright. This is a major reason why American cities are so screwed up.

1 posted on 07/23/2008 6:15:08 AM PDT by DallasBiff
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To: DallasBiff

Why isn’t this guy being charged with fraud? These benefits were probably paid through insurance . . .


2 posted on 07/23/2008 6:27:28 AM PDT by ruiner
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To: DallasBiff
Years ago I was visiting my parents in another state. We stopped at a neighbor's place while making our rounds one day, and I met a guy in his 40's who described building his house with rock walls and building rock retaining walls here and there on his place. Driving away I asked what the guy did for a living - oh, just a fireman retired on full disability for a back injury....

;^)

3 posted on 07/23/2008 6:29:18 AM PDT by Dumpster Baby ( They told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated)
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To: DallasBiff

Every single serious bodybuilder I’ve met has been just completely lazy and generally worthless on the job. I don’t understand it — you’d think that someone with the discipline to participate in that kind of sport would be disciplined in the rest of their lives, also, but it just ain’t so.


4 posted on 07/23/2008 6:29:24 AM PDT by Terabitten (Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets - E-Frat '94. Unity and Pride!)
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To: DallasBiff
Can't they use him for their Beefcake Calendar or something?
5 posted on 07/23/2008 6:33:16 AM PDT by BallyBill (Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
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To: DallasBiff

“I think he should resign,” Mayor Tom Menino


Maybe the mayor should FIRE him...................


6 posted on 07/23/2008 6:34:19 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple ( Seeking the truth here folks.)
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To: DallasBiff
This is ridiculous. If the individual involved in this story was working for any private company, he would have been sued and probably prosecuted for insurance fraud. Being asked to resign, on top of being ordered back to work, seems to be quite a light "punishment."
7 posted on 07/23/2008 6:36:08 AM PDT by pnh102 (Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
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To: PeterPrinciple
Maybe the mayor should FIRE him...

It is probable that the work rules in place do not allow for the mayor to do that.

8 posted on 07/23/2008 6:37:20 AM PDT by pnh102 (Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
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To: DallasBiff

I had 2 disk surgeries in the last 18 months, the last one Feb 20

I am only recently able to ride a bike, and I feel discomfort lifting over 40 pounds over my head once, let alone multiple times

I think I am going to get a 50% rating

The state is going to send me back to school full time next fall for free for vocational rehab, no more heavy industrial labor for me

I hope it’s better than the temp job scenario I was stuck in 5 years ago! :)


9 posted on 07/23/2008 6:39:28 AM PDT by RaceBannon (Innocent until proven guilty; The Pendleton 8: We are not going down without a fight)
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To: Terabitten
Every single serious bodybuilder I’ve met has been just completely lazy and generally worthless on the job. I don’t understand it — you’d think that someone with the discipline to participate in that kind of sport would be disciplined in the rest of their lives, also, but it just ain’t so.

Bodybuilding is not a cardio workout. You don't spend hours upon hours lifting weights.

You usually wouldn't spend more than a couple hours working out, and then you need to rest and recover. I've heard that more than an hour of actually lifting weights is usually counterproductive. You cycle through which muscles you work so that each muscle group gets time to recover. Eating lots of food throughout the day and getting lots of sleep are also important.

It takes a lot of effort to build huge muscles, but the heavy physical effort is only over a short period of time.

10 posted on 07/23/2008 7:05:55 AM PDT by untrained skeptic
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To: RaceBannon

Best of luck to you on your recovery.


11 posted on 07/23/2008 7:06:53 AM PDT by SeafoodGumbo
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To: SeafoodGumbo

We have to play by the rules, although he’s probably a democrat. He needs an extended stay behind bars.


12 posted on 07/23/2008 7:18:38 AM PDT by yorkie01
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To: PeterPrinciple

do you know the mayor in which you are referencing? this guy is a boob.
http://www.mumblesmenino.us/mumbling.htm


13 posted on 07/23/2008 10:44:07 AM PDT by Disciplinemisanthropy (fantasy hockey, anyone?)
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