FOI Case Costs City $18K

The city has paid $18,250 to bury a freedom of information verdict that cited two public boards for holding secret meetings about a firefighter’s fate.

The city made the payment Tuesday, settling a years-long dispute with a 23-year veteran of the city fire department.

The case centers on an injured firefighter named Gerald Fanfarelli, whom the city tried to kick off the force. Several lawsuits later, it turned into the latest freedom of information embarrassment for Mayor John DeStefano’s administration. Click here for an in-depth story.

Fanfarelli, who’s 55, threw out his back while stepping off a fire truck in October 2006. After spending a year and a half on medical leave, he tried to come back to the force. The city fought his return, claiming it had conflicting medical opinions that he was able to work. Fanfarelli won his job back after passing a fitness test required by the fire department. Then he sued everyone involved with blocking his return.

In a settlement signed in April, the city agreed to pay Fanfarelli’s lawyers $18,250, provided that he withdraw numerous legal actions — including a Freedom of Information complaint that produced damning findings against the DeStefano administration. Under the terms of the deal, the city agreed to let Fanfarelli stay on the job.

The agreement was approved by the Litigation Settlement Committee in February, signed by all parties by April 25, and delivered to the Independent Thursday. Click here to read it.

As a result of the settlement, the Freedom of Information Commission voted on April 28 to vacate one of two FOI decisions against the city.

That decision, issued June 10, 2009, found that the city Fire Commission and pension board both broke state law when they held meetings to discuss Fanfarelli’s fate without bothering to tell him. The commission declined to impose civil penalties against the board members, as Fanfarelli had sought.Click here to read the decision.

A second FOIC finding against the city was not vacated.

“The other FOIC decision merely clarified the application of the Freedom of Information Act’s (FOIA) statutory requirements to the conducting of executive sessions at public meetings,” explained city Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden in an email. ​“The City both recognizes and appreciates this clarification of the law.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Fanfarelli was not permitted to talk about the settlement. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.