Forty-six year old Boston firefighter Albert Arroyo placed 8th place competing steroid-free at the 2008 WNBF Pro Natural American Championships on May 3, 2008. Normally, this would be an admirable achievement but Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser was not impressed. It seems Arroyo entered the competition only six weeks after seeking full disability retirement because he was “permanently and totally disabled.” Arroyo’s bodybuilding routine was caught on tape. His bodybuilding precontest preparations were made while collecting on his full salary of $68,133 per year tax-free (“On injury leave, firefighter stood out as bodybuilder,” July 15).
Fraser said Arroyo told him that his bodybuilding helps ease his back pain – a claim that Fraser dismissed with a barnyard epithet.
“If he can lift weights, work out constantly, and enter bodybuilding contests, then he can inspect a building,” Fraser said. Arroyo, a firefighter since 1986, is a member of the Fire Prevention Division. His annual salary is $68,133.
Fire Commissioner Commissioner Fraser feels certain that Arroyo is abusing the firefighter pension system (“‘Disabled’ Boston Firefighter Caught Competing as Bodybuilder,” July 15).
“It is common sense when you look at Mr. Arroyo that he is in better shape than most of the guys in the Boston Fire Department,” Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser told the station. “To say that he can’t physically be an inspector in my opinion is ludicrous.”
Arroyo will likely find that passing anabolic steroid testing administered by WNBF is a lot easier than passing a pension abuse probe conducted by the FBI.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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