The Boston Globe
BOSTON — Bodybuilder Albert Arroyo is no longer employed by the Boston Fire Department because he failed to report to his job for two weeks, defying an order from the commissioner to return to work.
Arroyo was not technically fired, but instead has “voluntarily separated” himself from the department by not coming to work for 14 days, said fire spokesman Steve MacDonald. This, MacDonald said, allows the city to end his employment.
“We are sending him a registered letter” to notify him that he no longer works for the department and is no longer being paid, MacDonald said. “He has ten days to appeal the separation.”
Arroyo made headlines when the Globe reported that he finished eighth in a bodybuilding competition 15 days after filing for permanent disability for back injury. Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser ordered Arroyo to return to work July 21 at the department’s Fire Prevention Division, where he is responsible for inspecting homes and businesses to ensure that they comply with city fire codes. He had filed for a disability pension in April after Dr. John F. Mahoney concluded that he was “totally and permanently” disabled from a back injury. He competed on May 3 in the WNBF Pro American Body Building Championship.
Fraser told Globe columnist Adrian Walker that if Arroyo did not come in today “he’ll be fired.” Fraser predicted last week that Arroyo would be “sitting downstairs Monday morning.”
Copyright 2008, The Boston Globe