WHAT HEELS!: Boston Burned By Fake Firefighter Disability Claims

 

The FBI served subpoenas to more than a dozen current and former Boston firefighters to advance a grand jury investigation of disability abuse, such as “faked on-the-job injuries to significantly enhance their pensions,” reports The Boston Globe. City Hall was also subpoenaed to produce disability records as far back as 2000:

 

Between 2005 and 2007, nearly 75 percent of all Fire Department retirements were based on accidental disabilities rather than completed service. That number - 123 out of 166 - represents a substantially greater rate than other state public safety agencies in Massachusetts and fire departments in comparable cities around the country.

 

Added to that, so-called "above-grade" disabilities - resulting in firefighters receiving enhanced pensions - have accounted for a sharply increasing percentage of all disability retirements within the department, from 13.5 percent in 2001 to nearly 53 percent of disability retirements last year.

 

The investigation was launched after The Globe reported in January that “102 Boston firefighters claimed career-ending injuries while they were filling in for superiors at higher pay grades, enhancing their tax-free disability pensions by an average of $10,300 a year.” The city’s mayor and fire commissioner are not targets of the grand jury investigation.

Posted by The Stiletto at April 21, 2008
Categories: What a Heel
 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this post
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
  • No comments exist for this post.
Leave a comment

Submitted comments are subject to moderation before being displayed.

 Name (required)

 Email (will not be published) (required)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.