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By ANDREW TUTINO atutino@leader.net
Friday, February 04, 2000 Page: 3A
HAZLETON – A flurry of grievances were filed by the police and fire
departments’ unions against the city of Hazleton in the past few days, one of
which could affect the new administration’s plan to cut the city’s work force.
Three Hazleton police officers connected to former Mayor Michael Marsicano
filed grievances on Thursday. Two had been suspended after helping the former
mayor move.
The other grievance was filed Thursday by former Police Chief Robert
Macuch, who alleged he was not given proper separation pay when he retired
last month, said Mayor Louis Barletta.
The Hazleton Fire Department union’s grievance, filed Wednesday, says the
department unfairly has 16 fire drivers under contract, two short of the 18
mandated by contract, which is being contested by the city, Barletta said.
Barletta’s administration was contemplating cutting the two unfilled fire
driver slots from the payroll by saying the city could not meet contractual
demands, according to Jan. 21 memo sent to the City Council. The city also was
going to cite the city’s estimated debt of $555,000.
Exact details about the four grievances were unavailable Thursday night
because Barletta was in an executive work session with the City Council and
the Board of Directors of the Hazleton City Authority.
Attempts to reach the heads of the police and fire unions on Thursday night
failed.
The two suspended officers, patrolman Gregory Rossi and Lt. Stephen
Whiteko, are alleging the discipline was unfair. The two were suspended for
three days without pay after the Police Department was ordered by Chief Ed
Harry to remain “neutral” in Marsicano’s dealings with his estranged wife.
Marsicano had been ordered by a judge to remove the belongings after he had
a protection from abuse order filed against him by Lanora Marsicano. Rossi and
Whiteko helped Marsicano move while they were off-duty and Harry and Barletta
felt the officers’ actions violated the chief’s order.
Rossi and Whiteko have unlisted numbers and could not be reached for
comment. A person answering the phone at the Police Department Thursday night
said the two officers were not there.
The firefighters’ grievance comes after an appeal filed by the city on
Tuesday, contesting a ruling that upheld a pension increase for the
firefighters negotiated by Marsicano without the City Council’s knowledge.
In its appeal, the city said the arbitration was used “in a conspiratorial
fashion” by Marsicano’s administration and the firefighters union to bypass
City Council and obligate the city to “inappropriate and unlawful contractual
demands.”
Macuch’s grievance comes a month after he retired from a brief stint as
chief. Before Macuch’s appointment in September, he spent the previous year
receiving disability benefits through the state Heart and Lung Act for health
problems he said were caused by work-related stress.
At the time of his appointment to chief by Marsicano, Macuch denied
allegations he had taken the chief’s job only to boost his pension and said he
planned on staying with the force for three more years.