Former New York Firefighter Accused In Brawl Gets One Year In Jail

Firefighter Michael Silvestri was sentenced to a year in jail Wednesday for brutally beating a colleague during a Staten Island firehouse brawl on New Year's Eve in 2003.

Silvestri plead guilty to avoid a trial on charges he beat fellow firefighter Robert Walsh so badly that he left him in critical condition. Police said Walsh suffered severe head trauma after Silvestri hit him over the head with a chair during the brawl.

Silvestri's lawyers originally said he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder relating to the September 11th attacks. They later backed down from that defense.

The FDNY officially fired Silvestri in May 2005 after an administrative judge recommended that he either be fired or suspended for 20 days.