The Lowell Sun
BOSTON — A federal jury acquitted former Boston firefighter Albert Arroyo yesterday of fraud charges, which were brought after he participated in bodybuilding competitions and other strenuous activity while on disability leave.
The verdict was delivered after the jury deliberated for about four hours.
The not guilty verdict on two counts of mail fraud shook Arroyo, as he began crying when the verdict was read.
“We’re extremely gratified that the jury was able to consider all of the evidence and put aside the public outcry,’' said Timothy Watkins, Arroyo’s attorney, after the verdict was read in US District Court in Boston. “The public didn’t know the facts. The system worked.’'
Prosecutors walked out of the courtroom without commenting.
In a statement, US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said the verdict was a “disappointment.’'
“Taxpayers expect an honest day’s work for a fair day’s pay from every public servant,’' she said. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute allegations of these types of frauds.’'
Arroyo, who was fired for refusing to return to work as a fire inspector after officials learned he was competing as a bodybuilder, left without comment.
Officials at the Boston Fire Department also declined to comment. Officials in the union that represents city firefighters did not return calls.
Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, said the verdict was unfortunate.
“Mr. Arroyo was terminated from the city of Boston,’' she said. “He was terminated because the city of Boston contends he was able to do the duties assigned to him. He was ordered to return to work and refused. He no longer works for the city of Boston.’'
Arroyo had been a firefighter for two decades when he applied for accidental disability retirement in 2008, saying the fall aggravated a back injury he sustained on the job in 2000. Six weeks later, he was caught on video flexing his muscles in a strenuous routine at a bodybuilding completion in Marlborough.
The disability claim, first reported by the Globe in July 2008, became a flashpoint for critics of public corruption and benefits fraud.
In her closing argument yesterday morning, Assistant US Attorney Eugenia M. Carris told the jury that Arroyo knew how to abuse the system and used his knowledge of how to file false disability claims in a scheme to defraud the city.
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