Thomas Breen Photo.
The Whitney Avenue Fire Station.
A New Haven firefighter lost his job Thursday after allegedly committing domestic violence and stealing over $10,000 in firehouse funds.
The Board of Fire Commissioners voted unanimously to terminate the firefighter’s employment at a special session, in accordance with a recommendation from Fire Chief John Alston.
Per the union’s request, the firefighter’s hearing before the commissioners was sealed to the public. After convening a Zoom meeting, commissioners entered a separate “breakout room” to discuss the case with the defendant, lawyers, and union representatives privately. They emerged after 45 minutes to vote in favor of termination.
The case involved a collective fund for food and recreational expenses for the firehouse. A certain amount of money is regularly subtracted from firefighters’ paychecks in order to amass that fund.
The firefighter in question, Marcos Demelo, allegedly stole from this pool of money at the Whitney Avenue station where he worked.
According to Fire Commissioner Vin Mauro, Demelo utilized the group’s funds for his own personal expenses.
Mauro said that Demelo has paid the firehouse back “to the satisfaction of the union.”
After being placed on administrative leave as the city investigated the theft, Demelo was charged with a felony and five misdemeanors after an alleged domestic violence incident on July 3rd of 2019. He pled not guilty to the charges, which included unlawful restraint in the 1st degree, strangulation in the 3rd degree, threatening in the second degree, assault in the third degree, and breach of peace in the second degree.
When asked about the primary cause of Demelo’s firing, Mauro answered, “when you look at it in its totality, the city had a very comprehensive case.”
A lawyer representing Demelo as well as representatives from the firefighters’ Local 825 union did not respond to requests for comment in time for this article.