It's been a rough year!!! But the end result has turned out in my favor. As some of you may or may not know I was scapegoated and terminated / forced into retirement after the Tragic death of FPA Recruit Rachel Wilson that occurred on February 9, 2007. I have been fighting to clear my name and get my job back since. During this time I have had some major setbacks and disappointments, mostly orchestrated by and on the orders of Chief William Goodwin Jr. In late May of this year I got my first taste of real due process at my Civil Service Termination Appeal Hearing, what a breath of fresh air that was! The hearing lasted two days and the city produced no tangible evidence to support the charges they used to Fire me. On the other hand our union President Steve Fugate (Baltimore Fire Officers Association Local 964 of the IAFF) was absolutely brilliant in his presentation of tons of evidence that proved that the charges were unwarranted and therefore the termination was inappropriate. In late July I received a letter from Civil Service advising me that the recommendation of the hearing officer was to "Reverse the Termination Restore me to full duty with all back pay and benefits." A week later I received a letter from Civil Service that the City was filing an Exception to the recommendation. Here we go again! Again Steve Fugate filed a brilliant answer to the exception. Yesterday Steve called me and advised me that we prevailed in the challenge to the recommendation. What does that mean? It means that I will soon be reinstated to the best job in the world, as an officer of the Baltimore City Fire Department.

I'll have the sailboat back in the water in a couple weeks, when I do com on up and we can spend a day on the bay and talk about the good ole days.

Rick,
Good hearing from you! Things have been a little rough lately, I retired last Saturday, not by my own choice. Next step is my Civil Service Appeal Hearing. Wish me luck!