Convicted Ex-Deputy Chief Battles For Back Pay From Ex-Department

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The former deputy chief of the Highwood Fire Department wants his old job back – with back pay – even though it no longer exists. The Highwood Board of Fire and Police Commissioners is holding hearings this week to determine whether Ron Pieri should be fired following four years of unpaid leave and two years after he was convicted of falsifying time cards.

Pieri, 57, was arrested in November 2011 and charged with stealing wages over the course of several years. At the time, he was the small department's highest ranking member. He continued to collect a salary of roughly $66,000 while on administrative leave until the board of commissioners voted 2-1 to suspend him in 2013.

The board has scheduled four days of hearings this week to discuss the possibility of reinstating Pieri with back pay.

Under state law, only the board can decide to terminate cops and firefighters, and the hearings had been delayed pending the outcome of Pieri's criminal case in Lake County court.

In 2015, a judge found Pieri faked records to suggest he had been working when he had not been. He was supposed to work one 24-hour shift every three days but, according to prosecutors, preferred to work 9-5 and ended up defrauding taxpayers out of more than $70,000, the Chicago Tribune reported in 2015.

Pieri's lawyers said he had permission from the mayor to have other people cover for him and has appealed his felony conviction, which forbids him from collecting a lifetime pension.

Voters overwhelmingly chose to shut down the department in March 2016, as 70 percent approved a referendum to share fire and EMS services with Highland Park.

If the board votes to reinstate Pieri, the city — which does not expect to have to operate a one-man fire department — "has reviewed all options and will pursue those after the board's decision," City Manager Scott Coren said.

The board meets only a few times a year and had a vacancy between August 2016 and July 2017, which added to the delays in holding hearings, according to Coren.

» Former Highwood Deputy Fire Chief on Trial for Misconduct

Pieri was also the husband of an alderman at the time of his arrest. She reportedly suggested the charges were politically motivated. Kathy Murphy-Pieri said she had highlighted problems in the way fire department employees were being paid.

Her husband was targeted "to keep me from asking so many questions about the city," she told the Chicago Tribune in 2014. "They wanted me out."

Pieri could not be reached for comment.

» Ex-Highwood Deputy Fire Chief Avoids Jail for Doctoring Pay Records

_{Top photo: Ron Pieri 2011 booking photograph | via Lake County Sheriff's Office}