By Matt Breslow
Staff Writer
December 20, 2006
NORWALK - Fire commissioners last night voted to reinstate a former firefighter terminated last year after being arrested on charges of larceny and writing bad checks.
Andre Williams, 44, who joined the Norwalk Fire Department in 1986, also allegedly cashed a co-worker's paychecks in 2004.
Williams has received counseling for his problems and made progress, Mayor Richard Moccia said after last night's meeting.
Williams has a reputation as an "excellent firefighter" and is an experienced veteran, said Moccia, a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners.
"We thought that . . . we needed someone with his experience back, and we wanted to give him a second chance after 19 years on the department," the mayor said.
Williams must continue to undergo counseling and meet other criteria when he returns to the job, Moccia said.
Colleagues who served with Williams indicated they could work with him if he returned, Moccia said.
The Rev. Lindsay Curtis, president of the NAACP's Norwalk branch, and the Rev. Bruce Morris, newly elected state representative in the 140th District, attended last night's meeting to support Williams, who is black.
"I think Andre is an outstanding person," Curtis said after the meeting. "I think he's made some mistakes, but he's made amends."
Williams could not be reached last night.
Moccia said that after the Board of Fire Commissioners took up the matter in executive session last night, Williams said on the record that he made mistakes but had turned his life around and appreciated another chance.
Williams was suspended without pay from the department in August 2004 for cashing a co-worker's paychecks while the person was away, Jeffry Spahr, an attorney in the city's law department, has said.
Williams reportedly made restitution and wasn't charged.
In unrelated cases, Norwalk police charged Williams in August and December 2004 with larceny and writing bad checks.
Former Fire Chief Sanford Anderson filed paperwork to dismiss Williams.
In August 2005, Williams turned down a chance to resign with a settlement package by declining to sign documents agreeing not to sue the city.
The fire commission voted to fire Williams without severance if he didn't resign.
According to court records, a state Superior Court judge in May granted Williams accelerated rehabilitation, a special form of probation designed for first-time offenders facing less serious charges.
The program requires no guilty plea, and Williams' charges will be dropped and his record cleansed if he stays out of trouble for two years.
Williams must perform 200 hours of community service and pay more than $12,000 in restitution, according to court records.
Letters from Norwalk Deputy Fire Chiefs Stephen Shay and Robert Talloni, which are part of Williams' court file, praise his skill as a firefighter.
Fire Chief Denis McCarthy yesterday said Williams petitioned the fire commission for reinstatement.
The city invested a lot of time and training in Williams during his years on the fire department, Curtis said.
"I think the city showed great foresight and understanding in bringing Andre back on board," he said.
Williams' reinstatement comes at a time when the Fire Department has hired a consultant to assess the racial climate in the department and provide diversity training.
The move came after a suspended black firefighter showed members of the media a video recording on which a Norwalk firefighter is allegedly making two racial slurs in a firehouse.
Moccia said the three-member fire commission, whose makeup changed when he was elected last fall, voted unanimously to reinstate Williams.
"It was something that the community - many members of the African-American community - thought was right, and that's the direction we wanted to go," the mayor said.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.