Boston Herald
BOSTON — A Boston fire chief was convicted today of five counts of procurement fraud and five counts of larceny over $250 for swindling the city, Attorney General Maura Healey said.
“This defendant abused his position as a public employee and stole tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars that should have gone back to the City of Boston,” Healey said in a statement. “Our office is committed to holding accountable public employees who exploit their position for personal profit and defy the public’s trust.”
District Chief Edward A. Scigliano, 46, of Kingston, was found guilty by a Suffolk Superior Court jury of cheating the city out of nearly $50,000 while he ran the Boston fire training academy by having vendors write checks to his credit card companies, while he took home a flat-screen TV, gas grill, a Sam’s Club living room set and other items paid for with department funds.
Each felony carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and fines ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. Sentencing is slated for Feb. 25.
“I have a zero tolerance for corruption and promise swift action once sentencing is complete,” said Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn said in a statement. “The public deserves to have full confidence in the people that work for the City of Boston, especially those in public safety.”
Scigliano, who has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars while on leave since July 2012, was featured in an 2014 front-page Herald article as one of nearly 60 city workers who collects a full salary while out of work pending disciplinary action.
Scigliano has been with the department since 1996. He ran the fire academy from October 2005 until May 2012, when he was promoted from captain to district chief and was reassigned to the training division with an annual salary of $152,000.
His current status with the department is unclear.
Between 2008 and 2011, Scigliano used two separate schemes , including one in which he profited from checks from an emergency vehicle vendor that did business with the city’s fire department, and another scheme to personally profit from items purchased by an equipment vendor used to supply the department, the AG’s Office said.
When he was arraigned, his lawyer said Scigliano was “shocked.”
“My client is an individual whose entire life has been devoted to service — service to his family, service to our country and service to the Boston Fire Department. He’s not guilty of these charges and looks forward to his day in court. He’s a person who has risen through the ranks. He’s a highly respected firefighter,” attorney Michael Doolin said when Scigliano pleaded not guilty in November 2014.
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