# 100% "Disabled" Boston Fire Inspector partcipates in bodybuilding contest. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 28, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988 "2008-07-28T22:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/21 "2008-07-29T15:44:25Z")
[QUOTE=muttrox] 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. [/QUOTE] This is a non-sequitor. My comment went directly to the topic of the OP. If you want to whine about “corruption and non-accountability” as they relate to right wing politics, the traditional complaint has to do with corporations (It’s wrong, but that’s it’s usual target), and I don’t see how that applies in a thread about firemen. You’re either way off base or you’re being so obscure that your point is not obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/22 "2008-07-29T15:47:56Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] 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. [/QUOTE] One benefit of medical practice in a prison is that we can capture on camera our patients doing things that they swore they couldn’t do. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/23 "2008-07-29T15:50:26Z")
[QUOTE=muttrox] 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. [/QUOTE] Tell that to the Chicago City Council. They’ll be surprised to hear that they learned it from the right-wingers. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/24 "2008-07-29T15:53:18Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] 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. [/QUOTE] I generally respect your posts but this is bullshit. Fraudulent cases cost us all. I understand the point about disabled meaning not being able a specific job but he wasn’t caught mowing his lawn, he was bodybuilding. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/25 "2008-07-29T15:58:11Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] 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. [/QUOTE] It’s pretty easy to tell when an orthopaedist knows his patient is bullshitting: their notes will always say, “no objective findings to support subjective complaints,” or (among the tactful ones) “restrictions/impairment rating based on subjective complaints”. Problem is, because there occasionally really is that one guy who really is in pain, they’re extremely reluctant to call a patient a liar, even when they’re 100% certain. [QUOTE=KGS] 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. [/QUOTE] Sadly, a prosecution for work comp fraud is a one-in-a-million deal. It’s almost impossible to get anyone charged with fraud regardless of what sort of evidence you’ve got, and the employer and insurer basically have to build a case on behalf of the state attorney’s office before it will do anything. Much, much cheaper just to settle the case for peanuts and hope that when the claimant files their next claim you aren’t the insurer for THAT employer too. Problem is, work comp laws, like any laws relating to healthcare, are vague, arcane, and almost entirely beyond the understanding of the Average Joe. What that means is it’s almost impossible to prove that someone _knowingly_ tried to defraud an insurer. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/26 "2008-07-29T16:22:46Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Indeed. Welcome to the culture of entitlement and victimhood, brought to you by the far left wing of American politics. Enjoy your stay. [/QUOTE] Thanks! Wow, it’s nicer in here than I expected. Here’s my coat—I’ll take a dirty martini to start. And name brand, not that well shit, okay? You’re a doll. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/27 "2008-07-29T20:28:15Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] 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? [/QUOTE] To play devil’s advocate, you don’t have to be carrying heavy weights to fall down the stairs and hurt your back. And if you hurt your back bad enough, climbing those stairs in the future (in the course of your inspector duties) would be painfull, even carrying just a clipboard. Still, if this guy competed in a body building tournament, I don’t think his back is messed up. (I don’t think his doctor would want to prescribe pain killers, and not have anything to say about the strenous lifting…) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/28 "2008-07-30T00:53:11Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane] 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? [/QUOTE] Dr. John Mahoney is your man. His reply to a reporter: “If somebody doesn’t tell me they’re a bodybuilder, how am I supposed to know?” He did say one thing he does know, though, give him credit: “My career is fucked”. Several other “disabled” firefighters’ medical records suddenly disappeared recently, too. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/29 "2008-07-30T11:55:52Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] This is a non-sequitor. My comment went directly to the topic of the OP. If you want to whine about “corruption and non-accountability” as they relate to right wing politics, the traditional complaint has to do with corporations (It’s wrong, but that’s it’s usual target), and I don’t see how that applies in a thread about firemen. You’re either way off base or you’re being so obscure that your point is not obvious. [/QUOTE] Your comment was not about the OP, it was about Foie’s story. If you want to view this thread purely through the lens of entitlement and unfairly insult half the country, I want to view it purely through the lens of corruption and unfairly insult the other half. It’s ridiculous to claim that this firefighter was somehow brought to you by the left \*\*or \*\*right wing. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/30 "2008-07-30T12:47:53Z")
[QUOTE=muttrox] Your comment was not about the OP, it was about Foie’s story. If you want to view this thread purely through the lens of entitlement and unfairly insult half the country, I want to view it purely through the lens of corruption and unfairly insult the other half. It’s ridiculous to claim that this firefighter was somehow brought to you by the left \*\*or \*\*right wing. [/QUOTE] You should maybe read what I wrote. If I had said “fucking Liberals”, you’d maybe have a point. I specifically targeted the far left. Now, if you want to take ownership of a far left mentality, be my guest, but claiming that such attitudes are common to “half the country” is not accurate in the least. In any event, please tell me what individual fraud has to do with corruption, unless it was just a knee jerk: “Hey, he insulted my side, I’m going to insult people who don’t agree with me”. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/31 "2008-07-30T14:20:38Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] I specifically targeted the far left. Now, if you want to take ownership of a far left mentality, be my guest, but claiming that such attitudes are common to “half the country” is not accurate in the least. [/QUOTE] That’s a relief; for a moment there I thought you might be referring to some of us here. But the _far_ left—I mean, how many of those could there be? Hard to tell, they being so shadowy and hard to pin down, gathering wherever malevolent cabals typically gather. Ski Lodge of the Elders of Zion, maybe, in the off season. Slippery bastards, soon as you think you’ve got one, they move a little farther left and you find yourself with a handful of air. Still, it’s a little troubling: being so few in number and so extreme, how did they succeed in poisoning the rest of the nation—all of us right-thinking folks—with their malignant philosophy? Free Che t-shirts? Been a while since I read the _Manifesto_, but I recall it being a pretty dry endeavor, even on acid. Pretty impressive feat theirs, you have to admit. Let’s pray their _Doppelgängeren_ on the far right never aspire to the same level of influence—who knows _what_ might happen. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/32 "2008-07-31T15:14:19Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Thanks! Wow, it’s nicer in here than I expected. Here’s my coat—I’ll take a dirty martini to start. And name brand, not that well shit, okay? You’re a doll. [/QUOTE] I think I love you. I laughed so hard I started coughing. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/33 "2008-07-31T16:12:43Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Indeed. Welcome to the culture of entitlement and victimhood, brought to you by the far left wing of American politics. Enjoy your stay. [/QUOTE] Given that the brother served in both Bosnia and Iraq, it seems more of a bi-partisan thing. Oh, and you’re a fuckwit. > [@Vinyl Turnip](#): > > Free Che t-shirts? I initially read this as “Free _Cher_ t-shirts.” That’d be enough to get me to join up! ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/34 "2008-08-01T00:48:18Z")
Haha, I saw one of those shows that had investigators checking up on insurance/workers’ comp scammers and this one guy says he hurt his wrist and elbow and was 100% disabled. Well, in turn he got a check every month, didn’t have to work anymore and also got a settlement for $250,000. Welp, the P.I. caught this guy, who turns out to be a semi-pro wrestler, in the ring jumping from the top rope on top of his opponents, doing back flips, pile drivers and everything else wrestlers do in their “matches”. lol He had to pay it all back and got 5 years supervised probation plus all kinds of other fines. It’s just not worth it, people. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/35 "2008-08-01T07:03:21Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] Haha, I saw one of those shows that had investigators checking up on insurance/workers’ comp scammers and this one guy says he hurt his wrist and elbow and was 100% disabled. Well, in turn he got a check every month, didn’t have to work anymore and also got a settlement for $250,000. Welp, the P.I. caught this guy, who turns out to be a semi-pro wrestler, in the ring jumping from the top rope on top of his opponents, doing back flips, pile drivers and everything else wrestlers do in their “matches”. lol He had to pay it all back and got 5 years supervised probation plus all kinds of other fines. It’s just not worth it, people. [/QUOTE] But what about if you’re not silly enough to start/continue a career as “El Torque Wrench” the _Luchador_ once you’ve gotten your compo payout? I’m sure there are people that have managed to get $250k as a result of dodgy worker’s compo claims and have then devoted the rest of their life to watching DVDs, travelling, going fishing, and generally doing bugger all. I suspect the gentleman mentioned in the OP and the quoted post would have gotten away with it [del]if it weren’t for those meddling kids[/del] if they hadn’t decided to enter bodybuilding contests or become a semi-pro wrestler… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/36 "2008-08-01T13:13:41Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] I’m sure there are people that have managed to get $250k as a result of dodgy worker’s compo claims and have then devoted the rest of their life to watching DVDs, travelling, going fishing, and generally doing bugger all. [/QUOTE] It’s very, very difficult to get a workers’ comp claim settled for that kind of money, unless you were making very, very good money beforehand. Most well-paid people work in entirely or largely sedentary jobs and just don’t suffer w/c injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/37 "2008-08-01T16:04:46Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] This is a non-sequitor. My comment went directly to the topic of the OP. If you want to whine about “corruption and non-accountability” as they relate to right wing politics, the traditional complaint has to do with corporations (It’s wrong, but that’s it’s usual target), and I don’t see how that applies in a thread about firemen. You’re either way off base or you’re being so obscure that your point is not obvious. [/QUOTE] “…brought to you by the far left wing of American politics.” I don’t see how this applies in a thread about firemen either, but you were sure quick to step up and throw it in. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/38 "2008-08-03T18:15:42Z")
The story continues: Boston Globe August 1, 2008 [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/01/holding\_firm\_in\_backdraft/](http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/01/holding_firm_in_backdraft/) > [@](#): > > Arroyo decided he was disabled when he was warned, erroneously, that the department was considering placing GPS devices on the cars in his unit. That might have disrupted his daily four-hour workouts. Although that news item has yet to be confirmed, given the circumstances of a 100% “disabled” bodybuilder, it isn’t that hard to believe is it? Boston Globe August 2, 2008 [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/02/pension\_board\_official\_to\_retire/](http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/02/pension_board_official_to_retire/) > [@](#): > > [Robert] Tierney, who has been executive officer of the [Boston Retirement] board since 2003, spent much of this week trying to defend his office’s handling of disability pension applications after Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser sent him a letter demanding to know why 71 firefighter applications had not been processed after six months, the time limit specified in state law for approval or denial of such claims. > The delays are costing taxpayers at least $44,000 per week, money that firefighters are paid, tax free, while they wait out the pension decisions on injury leave, according to city officials. Not surprisingly, Robert Tierney will be retiring from his post in a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/39 "2008-08-03T18:28:52Z")
Don’t forget the cops. [Chiefs Disease.](http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=4792870) > [@](#): > > Most startling of all, 80 percent of assistant chiefs retired on disability. Almost as many deputy chiefs did the same. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988/40 "2008-08-03T18:43:12Z")
[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] 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. [/quote] You have any interest in doing anything for him to get him off the crack? [QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] 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. [/quote] A lot has changed in the military since Vietnam. I don’t want to sound like I’m discounting your dad’s service or your own, but the techniques the military has developed to crank out “better soldiers” (in the sense that they will actually try to kill the enemy) starting in the 60s make it increasingly harder to return to normality. Pile on the all volunteer nature of the military (i.e., what’s happening to you is a result of your choices), the increasingly arcane political justifications for being in Iraq, et al. and you get a lot of people that can’t reconcile what they’ve had to do with any concept of themselves that is honorable. Protecting your buddies might be the right thing to do, but an otherwise ineloquent marine can give a pretty striking description of what .50cal does to children. And then he comes back from where he’s been and seems just like any other guy. [QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] 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. [/QUOTE] The disability is probably for the PTSD, not the shoulder. Please try to get him off the crack and onto legal medication for whatever he’s trying to deal with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-disabled-boston-fire-inspector-partcipates-in-bodybuilding-contest/457988.md?page=3)