Sept. 01--STAMFORD -- Former Fire Chief Antonio Conte was under investigation by the city's Human Resources department when he abruptly stepped down last month.
Mayor Michael Pavia would not elaborate on details, but confirmed Friday that Conte, a 40-year veteran of the Stamford Fire & Rescue Department, decided to retire soon after human resources launched its inquiry.
"It was at the very, very initial part of their study and Chief Conte decided to quit," the mayor said. "He went into HR and said, 'That's it, I'm done.' I haven't talked to him since. It was very, very abrupt."
Human Resources was looking into several complaints against Conte alleging a variety of offenses, including manipulation of firefighter vacation day payouts and discrepancies involving the chief's salary. But Stamford residents heard a much different story when Conte retired without warning on Aug. 16, with Pavia and Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski publicly praising the second-generation firefighter for his decades-long service.
Conte did not return a call for comment. Jankowski said he spoke with the former fire chief last week.
"He stated that after 40 years of service he retired (not resigned) because of health issues of which federal law bars me from disclosing," Jankowski wrote in an email.
"I am certain Chief Conte's decision to retire was well thought out and best for him and his family."
The investigation
The allegations against Conte hit a fire department already reeling from the recent arrests of rank-and-file firefighters and its assistant chief on separate drug, counterfeiting and alcohol-related charges. It also came as city officials were trying to broker an elusive truce between its career and volunteer firefighters.
"It's just a very bad several months for the Stamford Fire Department," Pavia said Friday.
Stamford's Human Resources Department has not fulfilled an Aug. 19 Freedom of Information request from The Advocate for documentation related to the city's investigation into Conte. But a Stamford firefighter who did not wish to be named for this article for fear of reprisal told The Advocate he anonymously emailed Jankowski Aug. 9 to alert him to what he believed was ongoing impropriety in the fire department involving the chief.
Jankowski directed the firefighter to Assistant Human Resources Director Clemon Williams, whom he talked with without revealing his identity. The firefighter provided his emails with Williams to The Advocate for review this week.
The correspondence shows Williams was looking into the allegations against Conte.
"The information is very helpful," Williams wrote on Aug. 14. "Hopefully in the next 10 days we will have a resolution on these issues."
Conte abruptly resigned two days later. It was a surprising departure for a veteran firefighter who led the department since July 2011 as its interim and then permanent chief.
Williams declined to comment for this story. His boss, Director of Human Resources Emmet Hibson, said the city's inquiry into complaints against Conte ended when the chief resigned.
"There were some allegations made by some employees that we started looking at," Hibson said. "Right now there is no investigation because he retired."
Hibson declined to provide details on the nature of the allegations against Conte. He said he didn't see how it would have benefited the city to delay Conte's retirement until the investigation was completed.
"Assume the allegations are valid -- what would be the outcome? Terminate him rather than he retires?" Hibson said. "There's no bad boy clause in his contract, so there's no chance that he won't get his pension.
"You have a man who had a 40-year career. You're going to hold that up when there's going to be no outcome one way or another that would change anything?"
Pavia, however, said the HR department is still looking into several issues involving the fire department.
"There's still some things that HR needs to resolve," he said Friday.
Chief's salary
It's unclear exactly how much Conte was supposed to be paid as the city's fire chief. The Board of Representatives voted in April 2012 to approve Conte's hiring for an annual salary of $128,192, stipulating that the "employee shall not be entitled to overtime, compensation, compensatory time, or differentials."
Conte's base salary is listed as $141,620 in this fiscal year's budget, however. Longevity, education and "other" stipends brought his total pay up to $146,520, which is the number reflected in Pavia's final budget proposal.
But the city's 2012 payroll records show the chief earned far more last year than his contract and the budget books reflect. Conte pulled in $181,780 in 2012 even though his contract with the city does not allow him to collect overtime pay.
Former Chief Robert McGrath, who headed the department for 11 years and, like Conte, put in four decades at Stamford Fire & Rescue, earned $142,281 in 2009. He retired in 2011 and now works as Stratford's fire chief.
Conte, who oversaw the fire department's training division for 10 years, was until late this week listed online as the contact for the Stamford Regional Fire Training School on Magee Avenue, which offers training courses to fledgling, primarily volunteer firefighters.
The program receives a $55,000 annual budget from the state's Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Conte's contract does not reference the Regional Fire Training School, although it does allow for "occasional" teaching, writing or consulting after normal work hours. The contract stipulates that "as a salaried employee, payments for overtime, accrual of compensatory time or remuneration outside the ($128,192) salary are precluded."
Pension and vacation days
Conte's salary wasn't the only section of his contract that contained contradictions. The provisions governing his vacation and compensatory time vary from page to page.
The contract's section outlining benefits allows Conte to carry unused vacation time, up to a maximum of 75 days, from one calendar year to the next. This provision mirrors the language in the contract for the firefighter's union, which Conte belonged to before becoming chief.
"The maximum payout of vacation time upon separation of employment shall be 75 days," Conte's contract for the chief's job reads.
But on the next page, under a section of the contract entitled "separation of employment," the agreement reads that Conte will be paid upon retirement for all of his unused vacation days and compensatory time earned prior to his appointment as chief.
It lists his compensatory time as 237.5 days.
In a memorandum sent to Fire Department administrative assistant Barbara Murphy ahead of Conte's contract submission to the Board of Representatives in April 2012, former Assistant Fire Chief William Smith wrote that Conte had a compensatory day balance of 224 vacation days and 13.5 holidays.
It's unclear exactly how Conte was able to accumulate 237.5 compensatory days, since the firefighter union's contract capped such retirement payouts at 75 days in 1998.
The only exception is an additional 25 days for unused vacation time from the current year of retirement -- bringing the absolute maximum number of vacation days eligible for payout up to 100.
One possibility is that the 1998 union contract grandfathered several firefighters who had already banked more than 75 vacation days.
If Conte was covered as part of this arrangement that would mean he had saved up more than 200 vacation days as of 1998.
Conte's retirement package has not yet been approved by the Fire Fighter's Pension Fund. If he does receive the 237.5 compensatory day payout, however, the financial implications would be substantial.
Based on his budgeted salary of $146,520, Conte earned roughly $67 per hour as fire chief of Stamford.
Fire department vacation day payouts are calculated based on 12-hour days, which means Conte would earn about $805 for each vacation day. If he is allowed to cash out his entire balance of 237.5 vacation and compensatory days, Conte could potentially collect a check from the city of Stamford for $191,200.
Most firefighters do not accept a check for the full balance of their vacation day bank, however. The union contract allows retiring employees to put up to 100 banked vacation days toward their pensions, potentially enhancing their retirement benefits up to a maximum 7.5 percent.
Hibson said he didn't know how many vacation days Conte had banked as of the 1998 contract agreement. Firefighter vacation day records are not computerized but rather handwritten and stored in binders in fire department headquarters, making it difficult for city officials to audit them.
Hibson said the city would look closely at Conte's retirement package.
"We're not investigating him but I think one of the allegations that was raised to us had to do with his vacation time," Hibson said. "We'll pay out what's appropriate under the contract."
Not just the chief
Conte isn't the only high-ranking fire official to have mysteriously accrued a large amount of vacation and holiday days. Smith was carrying a compensatory day balance of 119.5 vacation and 12.5 holidays when the Board of Representatives approved his assistant chief's contract in April 2012, according to his memorandum to Murphy.
Smith, a 35-year department veteran, was forced to resign on July 18 after he allegedly crashed his city-issued vehicle into a parked car near his home in the early morning hours. He was later charged with driving under the influence.
Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association President Brendan Keatley, who took a seat on the department's pension board in early July, questioned Smith's pension package when it came before the board. In a July 31 letter to Human Resources Director Emmet Hibson, Keatley outlined his concerns.
"A pension resolution was introduced that had already been signed by the three trustees appointed by the city," Keatley wrote. "I refused to sign the resolution due to the fact that you have provided nothing showing that a higher pension amount is legally permissible. The city is agreeing to pay out 131 vacation days, 31 days more than is accorded to (Union Local) 786 members under the (collective bargaining agreement)."
Smith's base salary was $126,972 at the time of his resignation, according to the fire department's budget for this fiscal year. If Smith opted to collect a check for his 131 compensatory days, the value would be about $100,000.
The pension board tabled Smith's pension package, according to draft minutes of the group's Aug. 20 meeting. On Thursday, Keatley lodged a grievance accusing the city of granting employee pension packages in violation of the collective bargaining agreement.
"Based on personal knowledge, the city of Stamford is attempting to grant a pension to former Assistant Chief William J. Smith at a higher pension rate than allowed under the CBA between the city and (local 786)," Keatley wrote in his Aug. 29 grievance.
On Friday Keatley said he wants to ensure all union members are treated fairly and equitably.
"Chief Smith was a member of our department for over 30 years," Keatley said. "I believe he's entitled to what he's entitled to under the collective bargaining agreement. We feel the city is trying to give him a higher pension rate than we feel is appropriate."
Moving forward
It's unclear what's next for Stamford's Fire Department, which is now without permanent leadership following Conte and Smith's retirements. Jankowski, whom Pavia appointed to head the department until a new chief and assistant chief are located, said he will continue to hold Stamford firefighters to "the highest of standards."
"We have had several staff meetings since Chief Conte retired and I am impressed with the ideas, dedication and leadership of the Chiefs as well as the pride and commitment of the Officers and Firefighters," Jankowski wrote in an email. "The department has encountered difficult times recently, but strong leadership and dedication are critical in moving forward to develop and maintain high standards of performance."
Hibson said his office has taken possession of the fire department's vacation records and is scrutinizing the files of several current employees to make sure they have the proper number of vacation days. He said he has no plans to audit vacation day payouts of the department's recent retirees.
"Not unless someone comes and tells me that they believe something happened that wasn't proper," Hibson said. "Who do I choose? Do I do a spot audit on 10 people? I haven't even thought of that."
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Copyright 2013 - The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
