This year the FDNY Pension Fund's Medical Board approved 105 disability pensions out of 132 retirees. The problem is they can—nay, must—approve the requests even if there is no evidence linking the firefighters' disabilities to their jobs. Apparently the doctors are forced to approve the tax-free pensions worth three quarters of the firefighter's salary by law—and maybe also out of fear. Once source told the Post that docs regularly approve the pensions ever since board member Dr. Peter-Cyrus Rizzo was shot in 1987 by a disgruntled firefighter who had been denied coverage. "After Dr. Rizzo was murdered, they felt it would just be better to make it unanimous any time they could."
After firefighter Peter McNamee was told his disability application had been turned down, he pulled a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle out of an envelope and shot Dr. Rizzo twice. Many firefighters get angry if they get rejected, especially considering the board is so lenient with their handouts, like they were with an FDNY doctor who never even fought a fire. However, Dr. Arthur Helft says they're just following the "presumptive bills," which assume certain illnesses and conditions are job related, regardless of medical proof. By that rule, about 90% of FDNY retirees qualify for the pension, which is estimated to cost the FDNY $900 million this year. Board members say the approvals "just got out of hand."
