06/27/2006

Sampietro offered Allingtown chief’s job

Marissa Yaremich , Register Staff

WEST HAVEN — It’s almost as though becoming a leader in the Allingtown Fire Department is a hereditary gene in the Sampietro family. Well before the department employed paid firefighters, Victor Sampietro oversaw his brood of flame-dousing volunteers as a devoted captain. His sons, Victor L. and Richard J. Sampietro, carried on the tradition by taking turns serving as the paid firefighters’ chief through the early 1980s. Now the legacy has an opportunity to thrive if Victor J. Sampietro, Victor L.’s son and the first Victor’s grandson, accepts the Board of Fire Commissioners’ recent contract offer to become the district’s next fire chief. "He deserves it," said fire board Chairman Louis P. Esposito Jr. On Monday, Esposito and Sampietro’s attorney, Chip Walsh, confirmed the board has offered Sampietro a contract to replace retired Chief Elmer Henderson Jr., who officially left the department June 30, 2005. Whether Sampietro, a 30-year department veteran, has signed off on the contract, however, depends on whom you ask. According to Walsh, his client had yet to sign the contract as of Monday evening and he has advised Sampietro not to publicly speak about the issue until it’s resolved. "We are considering it," Walsh acknowledged, declining to comment further until he and Sampietro have reviewed the offer. If you ask Esposito, however, the yearlong delay to fill Henderson’s vacancy is a done deal. "Everything is signed. Let’s roll," said Esposito, who has attributed the lengthy delay to a myriad of reasons, from a federal lawsuit filed in 2003 by Capt. Peter V. Massaro Sr. to commission obligations to fix fire trucks and prepare the annual budget. The chairman claims both Sampietro, who is acting as chief, deputy chief and the district fire marshal, has signed off on a three-year contract to become chief and Massaro on a two-year contract to succeed Sampietro as deputy chief. Firefighter Stephen Panza will replace Massaro as the one of the department’s four captains, who include Sampietro’s younger brother, Marshall Sampietro. Marshall Sampietro, though not addressing the contract specifically, said his brother is the natural successor to Henderson, as Victor has devoted his entire life to firefighting as has his entire family. "I can remember my brother and I as kids, perhaps around 4 or 5 years old, wanting to be firemen and never wanting anything else," he said. "It just goes to show, if you stick with it, you get rewarded." Esposito said the fire board held an "emergency meeting" Friday night to finalize the offer, which retroactively makes Sampietro chief since July 1, 2005. Massaro, a 28-year district veteran, said he’s agreed to the contract, effective Saturday. Massaro also said he informed the board he will withdraw the federal lawsuit that claimed he was discriminated against in the 2001 search for a chief. Massaro said he came to this decision based on the financial and family strains the suit caused. He and Esposito said the withdrawal is not a contract provision. Esposito could not immediately provide copies of the contracts. "I feel great about (the deputy chief contract) and I hope the department will go forward," Massaro said. "All this controversy I hope will end because … we do have a great department." Whether Sampietro will follow in the family tradition, Walsh said, remains to be seen, based on the contract language. Meanwhile, Esposito said swearing-in ceremonies are slated for Thursday and Friday for Sampietro and Massaro, respectively. ©New Haven Register 2006