Jul 21, 2008 10:44 am US/Pacific
Bodybuilding Firefighter A 'No-Show' At Work
Man On Disability Was Ordered To Return To His Job
BOSTON (CBS) ―
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Albert Arroyo reported that he fell down some stairs in a Boston-area firehouse on March 21 and reinjured an old back problem. (File)
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. Albert Arroyo was ordered to return to work by Fire Commissioner Roderick Frazer.
Frazer sent a letter to Arroyo late last week ordering his return to work on Monday. As of 9:30 a.m. a spokesperson for the department said that Arroyo had not shown up for his shift, and they had not been contacted with a reason for his absence, reports CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston.
"The commissioner has been very clear on this," said 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."
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.
Dr. John Mahoney of Caritas Carney Hospital, the doctor who determined Arroyo was permanently disabled, says that he was unaware his patient was a professional bodybuilder since 2003. Mahoney tells the Boston Globe that he never noticed Albert Arroyo's ripped physique during 13 exams, 8 of which were since his injury.
Mahoney says it wasn't until video surfaced on news reports that he found out about Arroyo's bodybuilding career.
"If someone is doing bodybuilding and doesn't tell me, how the hell would I know?" Mahoney told the Globe.
Dr. Mahoney was the department's in-house medical officer for two years in the early 80's. Since 2001, the Globe reports, he has recommended 25 firefighters receive permanent disability pensions.
The Boston Fire Department is under federal investigation for questionable disability cases like Arroyo's. Dr. Mahoney denies being the go-to doctor for firefighters looking to scam the department.
Albert Arroyo was due to return to work Monday morning as a fire inspector in Roxbury.
Commissioner Fraser is urging the city's retirement board to deny Arroyo's permanent disability claim.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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