Tag Archives: Utica Fire Department

The appeal of a Utica firefighter who was terminated for engaging in lewd behavior in the firehouse in 2018 has been rejected by the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court. Richard J. Forte was fired following a police investigation into semen found on the pants of a female firefighter.

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The City of Utica has prevailed in its appeal of a lower court ruling reinstating and awarding backpay to a firefighter who was terminated for sexual misconduct on duty. Richard J. Forte was terminated following a bizarre incident in the firehouse in 2018. He was initially suspended without pay while the discipline process began, and later terminated.

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For a relatively small city, the City of Utica, New York has seen more than it’s fair share of fire law headlines in recent years. The Utica Fire Department is once again in the headlines with word that New York State Supreme Court Judge Patrick McRae has ruled against Fire Chief Russell Brooks, who is seeking 9-11 related disability benefits for his leukemia.

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An Oneida County Court Judge has ordered a Utica firefighter to provide a DNA sample as an investigation to sexual misconduct at a fire station continues. According to Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara, "a female (firefighter) went out on a call, and when she returned she found...

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The fire chief in Utica was in court yesterday pressing the city to have his leukemia treated as a 9/11 related illness. Fire Chief Russell Brooks filed suit against the City for denying his claim that his chronic lymphocytic leukemia was brought on by his work at the World Trade Center in 2001.

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The son of Utica, New York Fire Chief Russell Brooks has filed suit against the city claiming he is being discriminated against on account of his religion and gender over the length of his hair. John Brooks, a Utica firefighter, filed suit in US District Court in December accusing the city of discrimination.

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The City of Utica, New York has settled a federal lawsuit that accused the city of wrongful death and “purposely and maliciously withholding protective services from (the victims) because they lived in a low-income neighborhood.”

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A firefighter in Utica, New York who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a co-worker while sleeping has lost her civil suit against the accused firefighter and the city’s fire department.

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A new lawsuit has been filed in the aftermath of a fire in Utica, New York in 2009 that claimed the lives of four people. By my count, this is at least the sixth suit to come out of the ...

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A female firefighter and her husband have filed a $7 million suit against the City of Utica, two city attorneys, and a firefighter over what they claim was an attempted rape in a fire station. The sordid details were set ...

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