I’m surprised this hasn’t made it to the Pit yet. The story seems to be confined to the Boston area but I think the whole Straight Dope Message Board should know about this clown.
The summary of the story is that Boston Fire Inspector Albert Arroyo
Two months later:
“Surprisingly” :rolleyes: , after this story broke, Arroyo could no longer have his disability payments tax free (how awful) and he has been ordered to return to work today, which I believe he has failed to do so.
There are other stories of disability retirement corruption in the Boston Fire Department but this guy tops the list don’t you think?
What gets me so upset about this story? Well, as most of you know, for the past 25 years I have had multiple sclerosis and although it doesn’t always make me feel in the best of health, I have been employed full-time in all of those years. (Unfortunately it has seriously cut back on the amount of time I can train for bodybuilding tournaments. ) So, from a personal perspective, this guy really pisses me off. Well as they say about the healthy people who park in the handicapped spaces: “pray that you never really need to use that space.”
So, what do you think? Is this guy an unbelievable jerk or am I just personalzizng the story a bit too much?
I read about this the other day - the worst figure in this story, IMO, is the doctor who certified that he was 100% disabled. He didn’t notice that the guy was a bodybuilder when he examined him?
My husband works in the construction safety field, so I get to hear his stories about fighting with worker’s comp. I suspect they’d be fighting this guy’s claim tooth-and-nail. They have a lot of modified work programs - if you can’t do your job, you can still do some job. They also require injured workers to go to the company’s doctors, so you don’t have some guy getting his own doctor to sign off on a disability claim when he’s okay to do body-building.
Fradulent disability claims are a problem in every industry. Back pain especially often has a subjective aspect; pain doesn’t show up on x-rays or MRIs, so it’s easy to fool doctors. I once had a long party conversation with a guy who was a detective hired by an insurance company, whose job was checking up on disability claims a few weeks or months later. The stories he told were amusing (how stupid can these people be?) but sad as well.
The saddest part are the people who have serious, legitimate, disabling back injuries but are viewed with suspicion and mistrust because of the jokers who commit fraud.
In some jobs “disability” does not necessarily mean that you are disabled, it means that you got injured on the job and are now unsuitable for further employment. We had this discussion a few weeks ago with military disability. If you get hurt and the government determines that there would be a potential problem if you continued your employment they cut you some or all of your pension and show you the door.
There are thousands upon thousands of people collecting disability pensions right now that are not “disabled” in any way that you would accept, but have some issue that keeps them from doing the job. It could just as easily be a mental thing- PTSD can get you 100% disability.
In this case it seems that he has gotten away with something, but that’s not always so. In any event, what he “gets away with” shouldn’t affect you in any meaningful way, any more than any entitlements you may be getting or may get in the future don’t affect me one way or the other. Anger tinged with envy isn’t good for your psyche.
Firemen regularly fake accidents; after which they go to some rummy “doctor”-who will certify them as disabled. Latr, they wind up in Florida running roofing businesses.
I would like to see this guy REALLY prosecuted:mail fraud, making false statements, insurance fraud, and wire fraud. Also, put the doctor in jail too-for conspiracy and fraud. I am tired of being robbed by these thieves!
I’ve got friends who do this. They see people doing things they swear they are physically unable to do all the time. It seems they never consider that someone may be watching.
If this asshole claimed he was injured and then goes and trains and competes in a fucking bodybuilding contest - he’s a liar. That dude is fucking stacked - my dad has degenerative disc disease affecting his back. He is in pain every day. He still works full time as a carpenter, doing manual labor shit. He also does not bodybuild or anything else strenuous in his free time. If this firefighter filed a claim for SEVERE BACK INJURY that RENDERS HIM COMPLETELY UNABLE TO WORK then hits the gym every day lifting huge weights, it’s one of the biggest loads of bullshit I’ve heard in awhile. He is essentially stealing his pension in my mind - his back must not be fucked up in the slightest and he seems like he could be doing SOME job. Until I hear evidence that severe back injuries don’t affect bodybuilding but do affect: firefighting, being a member of the fire squad that maybe only drives the truck, does paperwork, whatever, I think this guy is an asshole and full of shit. It’s not like this guy claimed PTSD or any other mental issue. He said he hurt his back so bad he couldn’t work. This man is taking money from the taxpayers of Boston or where ever that he does not deserve. Maybe it’s really RO but this story just hit me as super ridiculous. I know some bodybuilders - you have to be in excellent shape, obviously. If you are on disability for an injury that is be mutually exclusive with being a competitive bodybuilder, at least if you’re actually physically injured like this guy claimed.
Yeah, and he got called on it, and he’s probably going to have to pay the benefits back. But that doesn’t change the fact that I have to go to work tomorrow. So he cheated. Big deal.
He’s a member of the Boston Fire Department but his job was to inspect buildings for fire safety. That’s right, the heaviest thing he carried around when he was working was a clipboard and pen.
Makes this whole flimflam seem even more outrageous, doesn’t it?
My cousin is a fairly recent returnee from Iraq. He got in a HMMV accident that fucked up his shoulder. He has also been diagnosed with PTSD due to his multiple combat experiences (Iraq twice, Bosnia before), and has subsequently become a crack addict.
I do and don’t have sympathy for him…I served in the 1st Gulf War, and while I didn’t see direct combat, my highly successful Dad did in Vietnam, twice.
So, there’s sympathy there, but there isn’t. He’s now getting 100% disability from the govt, even though the VA has already repaired his shoulder and I am pretty sure he could work normally at a normal job that isn;t in the realm of say, construction.
But he can’t get a job because it will take away his government check. Meanwhile he spends most of his checks on cocaine.
Reminds me of a news story I saw many years ago about a guy being investigated for Workers Comp abuse. Turns out the guy (who was “totally disabled” with a back injury) was the lead singer of a heavy metal band. The private dick sneaked a camera into the club and filmed the guy prancing about on stage, doing the splits, twirling 360’s, the works. He was facing jail time as a result.
But what I never found out was…did the detective get busted for bootlegging??
On first glance it would seem it doesn’t affect me in any way. But actually it does. Every time someone claims fraudulent disability, it makes it that much tougher for folks with actual disability to get their claims recognized.
Airman Doors, USAF
I don’t know if your posting was directed at anyone in particular but here’s my reply.
I have no problem with anyone who collects 100% disability for a mental disorder (be it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or whatever else).
You mentioned that his “getting away” with something “shouldn’t affect you in any meaningful way” - oh but it does. The money he is receiving is coming from somewhere isn’t it? So, somebody has to pay extra money for this guy’s free ride resulting from “a back injury that no one witnessed at a fire station where he was not assigned to work”.
“Anger tinged with envy isn’t good for your psyche”. No, I suppose it isn’t very good at all but I’m not really envious of this guy. I think my emotions about this are closer to anger tinged with … more anger.
Ugh. I see this all the time, and it’s a horrible practice.
Several times a week I get asked to write a letter stating that a patient is “completely and permanently disabled from working in any capacity”. Some people even go so far as to write the letter for me and ask me to sign it. I tell them I don’t make statements like that under any circumstances. I’ll outline what they can and can’t do, and what they shouldn’t do. If they bring me a description of the tasks necessary for their job, I will usually go so far as to make a statement about whether he’ll be likely to return fully to that position again. But whether the patient’s deficits are severe enough to qualify for disability benefits is up to the people who pay those benefits.
My reasoning is this: Stephen Hawking has a job. Of course, not everyone can be a theoretical physicist or do a job that requires almost no body function at all. (I certainly couldn’t.) But it isn’t really up to me to draw that line.
An article (I want to say NY Times) identified the problem as having roots in the IAFF Union local representing Boston FD, and an ongoing pissing contest between them and City Hall. Still, the guy is a cheat and a liar, and those who went along are conspirators to commit fraud. Jail and restitution for all involved. They’ve dishonored the profession in which many honest men and women proudly serve.
THis is why my husband’s company requires their workers injured on the job go to the doctors the company deals with - the doctors aren’t in the pocket of the company or anything like that, but they are knowledgeable about worker’s comp claims and modified work programs, so they can give a better recommendation for modified work or no work at all.
Unlike most of this thread, which is about the culture of corruption and non-accountability brought to you by the far right wing of American politics. Enjoy your stay.
) So, from a personal perspective, this guy really pisses me off. Well as they say about the healthy people who park in the handicapped spaces: “pray that you never really need to use that space.”