F.D. Building Abuses

To the Editor:

I am sure that I am not alone in thanking you for an excellent article "FDNY Trades Staff Sues on Hours, Pay" and the editorial "Unions' Duty at Issue" in the Aug. 4 edition of The Chief. Now never mind the Fire Commissioner; when is the Mayor going to get involved and do something about what goes on in the civilian work force of the FDNY? (Like Mr. Bloomberg did in another city agency when workers were taking smoking breaks.)

This is not the first time The Chief has run damming articles or blistering editorials about the FDNY Buildings Maintenance Division, as have other print and television news media. The article and editorial illustrated and articulated some of the abusive behavior that Brian Colella and others were the object of under the command of Assistant Commissioner Joseph Mastropietro, his henchmen and henchwomen.

The article did not go into some of the timeliness of Civilian Management's appalling actions, so I will tell you. For example, on Sept. 11, 2001 and in the days following, these same civilian supervisors and managers used this day of infamy to attack Mr. Colella, an FDNY union Electrician; Anthony Giordano, an FDNY union carpenter whose wife has Multiple Sclerosis, and myself, who had just filed a Federal whistle-blower lawsuit only three weeks earlier foretelling just some of the communications nightmares experienced on 9/11 by firefighters and the people of New York City. "The cat's paw," aka the FDNY Bureau of Investigations and Trials (BITS), succeeded in suspending both employees that infamous week, then terminated them without just cause. No hearing, no basis, and obviously no conscience. Although BITS did not get to me, it sure tried to fire me while I was out on childcare leave.

My Federal lawsuit against Mr. Mastropietro et al. has since been settled, thus I have been vindicated. Mac Harris, an FDNY Architect, settled his racial discrimination lawsuit against Joe Mastropietro and FDNY, and I am confident that Mr. Colella too will have favorable decisions in both his improper practice petition before the Board of Collective Bargaining and his arbitration proceeding in an effort to get his job back after three-and-a-half years.

Unfortunately, regardless of the outcomes, those responsible will still have their cushy jobs and continue to harass, intimidate and work hard - not at their jobs, but at destroying otherwise good employees. All at taxpayers' expense.

Maybe next time The Chief runs an article like this, instead of having a picture of Mr. Colella or myself, run a photograph of Mr. Mastropietro running like a criminal from John Deutzman, the FOX 5 TV reporter who was physically assaulted by one of Mastropietro's hand-picked supervisors outside of the Assistant Commissioner's office. He was investigating, among other things, Mr. Mastropietro's misuse of city-owned vehicles. Embarrassing indeed, Mr. Mayor!

JOHN J. FABBRICANTE, Electrician