News Brief: Pension Panel Refers Cases To State

At its Oct. 24 meeting, the voted to refer four of five firefighter pensions to the state's retirement panel, and withheld a decision on a fifth.

During the meeting held at the , the board decided to send the pensions of Fire Chief Victor H. Cipriano, and firefighters Henry J. Albanese III, Anthony M. Cappelli, and Paul Delvecchio to the state retirement commission for review, and to table a decision on the pension awarded to the late Timothy Grissom, which his widow, Claudette, is collecting.

At issue was whether the pensions for the retired firefighters had been awarded properly; attorney Joseph Rodio Jr. told the committee that the four pensions had not been approved by the state, as required by General Law 45-21-8(d).

In separate 6-0 votes — the firefighters' union, IAFF Local 1950, does not have a representative on the board — the committee decided to ask for a decision from the state.

On Oct. 21, the fire union's request for a restraining order to prevent tonight's session was denied in Superior Court.

Watch for Damien Baldino's full report tomorrow on JohnstonPatch.

Information for this article was provided by Damien Baldino.