By JILL BODACH and ROBERT KOCHHour Staff Writers

NORWALK -- Andre Williams, a 19-year veteran of the Norwalk Fire Department suspended without pay last year following larceny charges, has withdrawn his resignation letter and is now dismissed without severance pay, according to city officials. Williams' status as a firefighter has been under dispute since last year, when several charges, including two first-degree larceny charges, were brought against him. During a July 20 meeting of the Fire Commission, commissioners voted to dismiss Williams but first offered him the opportunity to resign, so he could collect his severance and still receive health insurance coverage through the department. "Based on Chief (Sanford) Anderson's recommendation that he made a year ago, we voted to terminate Mr. Williams. However, we gave him two weeks (from July 25) to resign and told him that we would accept his resignation, and he would be allowed to receive certain benefits that we felt he deserved after 19 years of service," Fire Commission Chairman Michael Corsello said. M. Jeffry Spahr, deputy corporation counsel for the city, said Williams' attorney, William Pelletreau, informed him this week that Williams has decided to retract his resignation letter dated Aug. 5. "He signed the resignation letter but not the releases or waivers," Spahr said. "As far as we're concerned, his resignation is not (valid), and he's back to being terminated. He had every opportunity to resign. Now, he's not getting severance." Williams will not collect roughly $16,000 in severance pay, Spahr said. On Friday, it remained unclear why Williams withdrew his resignation. His attorney could not be reached for comment. Williams, in an Aug. 8 letter Fire Chief Denis McCarthy, wrote that he was "regretfully" resigning from the department in face of the dismissal. "My main concern for resigning is the concern and welfare for my family in order to ensure that I receive my severance pay and that I am able to afford the medical costs in order to maintain the livelihood of my children," Williams wrote. Corsello said he is disappointed that Williams decided not to resign. "I felt that we gave him an opportunity to get some help and he chose not to avail himself of that for whatever reason," Corsello said. " In July, the Fire Commission voted to dismiss Williams, 42. Last year, Williams was charged with three counts of second-degree larceny for writing bad checks. This April, Williams was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace for his role in a disturbance on Lincoln Avenue, according to police. Williams has disputed the April charges, in which police allege he brandished a shotgun during a verbal argument with his neighbor. In June, Williams told The Hour that he wanted the Fire Commission to "hear my side of the story." He pledged to stay out of trouble in the future and "avoid a confrontation at all costs." There have also been allegations that Williams stole a fire department dispatcher's paycheck on several occasions, although no criminal charges have been pressed regarding those allegations. According to Corsello, Williams would have been allowed to withdraw some of his pension money under an "emergency situation" clause and could have been used to pay back some of the restitution he owed in that situation.