A Hub fire chief found guilty of stealing nearly $50,000 from the city yesterday was blasted as an “embarrassment” by Commissioner Joseph Finn — who said he’s eager to finally see the swindler fired.
“This type of behavior — we’re certainly not going to tolerate it,” Finn said of District Chief Edward A. Scigliano, convicted by a Suffolk Superior Court jury of five counts of procurement fraud and five counts of larceny over $250.
“It’s an embarrassment. It’s not a reflection of the department as a whole. The 99 percent of Boston firefighters that show up every day and do an outstanding job for the citizens of Boston, those are the people I’m here for.”
Authorities said Scigliano, who ran the Boston fire training academy, had vendors write checks to his credit card companies and that he took home a flat-screen TV, gas grill, a Sam’s Club living room set and other items paid for with department funds.
Between 2008 and 2011, Scigliano used two separate schemes, including one in which he profited from checks from an emergency vehicle vendor that did business with the city’s fire department, and another in which he personally profited from items purchased by an equipment vendor used to supply the department, according to Attorney General Maura Healey.
Scigliano, 46, of Kingston, who raked in $376,000 while on paid leave from July 5, 2012, to Nov. 13, 2014, has been on unpaid leave since Nov. 14, 2014, following his indictment, the fire department said.
His attorney could not be reached for comment.
Scigliano’s sentencing is slated for Feb. 25, and he most likely won’t work at the fire department much longer after that, Finn said.
“He’s been convicted by a court of his peers. The only evidence we need for a hearing board are the indictments and the outcome of the indictments,” Finn said, vowing if Scigliano hasn’t resigned following sentencing, “I will immediately start the termination process.” That process is outlined by state law, the fire department said.
Each felony carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and fines ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.
Scigliano, a nearly 20-year veteran of the department, was released on his own recognizance yesterday on terms he surrender his passport and turn over any firearms.
———
©2016 the Boston Herald
Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
