Anthony Vaglica, a candidate for commissioner in the New Hyde Park Fire and Water District, was terminated as a volunteer in the New Hyde Park Fire Department in 2009 because of conduct “unbecoming a member,” according to a Supreme Court order upholding his termination.
Vaglica allegedly encouraged his brother to hit fellow New Hyde Park firefighter Christopher Chiofalo and subsequently spoke to New Hyde Park Fire Department Chief John DiVello “in a hostile and inappropriate manner.” He was suspended by DiVello and terminated by the New Hyde Park Board of Fire Commissioners based on the recommendation of a hearing officer who presided over a hearing before the board.
Vaglica unsuccessfully appealed the New Hyde Park Board of Fire Commissioners’ decision to terminate him with an appeal of the case in State Supreme Court in August 2009.
“There’s nothing criminal here. My brother smacked the kid because the kid owed him money. As far as cursing out the chief, that’s true,” Vaglica said.
He said the fire commissioners were jealous of him because he owns a successful construction company, VAR Home Improvements.
“They didn’t like me,” he said of the commissioners, who included Rick Stein, the incumbent he’s currently seeking to unseat in the election to be held Tuesday, Dec. 13.
When asked last week about why he left the fire department, Vaglica said he left the New Hyde Park Fire Department in 2008 to devote more time to his family, work on his construction business and make improvements on his house.
Vaglica said Stein and others are circulating the story about his termination from the fire department to hurt his campaign for fire commissioner. Some are saying he was terminated for criminal activity, according to Vaglica, who said he is intending to file a defamation of character lawsuit.
“They’re begging for votes and they’re trying to tell people I’ve done something criminal. They are running scared and that’s why they’re doing what they’re doing,” he said. “That’s the only thing they have on me, that they threw me out of the fire department.”
The New Hyde Park Fire Department then alleged that he was gambling, Vaglica said.
“They couldn’t throw me out. So then they tried to throw me out for gambling in the firehouse,” Vaglica said.
Stein said the fire commissioners took action against Vaglica because he was intimidating other volunteers in the fire department.
“He’s a bully. He was bullying a lot of people in the fire department. We can’t have that. We can’t people walking around strong-arming people,” Stein said.
He said the fire commissioners chose to engage a hearing officer in the case to have an unbiased opinion rendered. Vaglica said Stein was friendly with the hearing officer, an allegation Stein flatly dismisses as untrue.
Joseph Frank, attorney for the New Hyde Park Board of Commissioners, said bringing in an outside party to hear the case is often an advisable way to proceed.
“Sometimes because everyone knows everyone, it’s just easier to bring in a neutral hearing officer to make a recommendation to the board,” Frank said, adding that such disciplinary cases in local volunteer fire departments are “certainly unusual.”
Vaglica, an ex-chief who served in the fire department for 24 years, said he was expecting a campaign to tarnish his reputation.
He had his own charges to level against Stein, who he claimed is “double-dipping” by collecting length of service payments from the New Hyde Park Fire Department and the Fire Island Pines Fire Department and is also collecting a pension from his former job as a New York City fire inspector. Vaglica said membership in two volunteer departments is improper.
Stein confirmed that he is collecting payments for his service in the New Hyde Park department, but declined to receive those payments from Fire Island. He said both departments are aware of his dual membership and have taken no action to discourage it. He also said the pension from his New York City job does not conflict with his length-of-service payments.
Vaglica also said Stein has used his fire commissioner vehicle for personal purposes. He also said Stein had taken furniture and a television set from a meeting room in the firehouse to give to his brother, who he said owns a night club in upstate New York.
Stein said that his brother took chairs the fire department’s house committee had decided needed to be replaced. He said the TV wasn’t working and was donated to paramedics at the Nassau University County Medical Center.
Regarding Vaglica’s charge that he has improperly used his official vehicle, Stein said, “The vehicle is for the use of the fire commissioners at their discretion.”
Stein said that Vaglica had improperly used his vehicle as fire department chief for trips to Atlantic City.
Meanwhile, as the campaign enters its final days before the Dec. 13 ballot, Stein said 100 lawn signs he had planted throughout the fire and water district were removed.
