Two Lieutenants Penalized In New Year's Eve Brawl

NEW YORK (AP) -- Two New York City Fire Department lieutenants have been penalized for trying to cover up a New Year's Eve brawl at a Staten Island firehouse.

Raymond Kane and Gregory McFarland were on duty in the firehouse on December 31st, 2003, when Firefighter Robert Walsh was seriously injured in an alcohol-fueled brawl.

The Staten Island Advance reports that Kane accepted a demotion from lieutenant to firefighter and McFarland agreed to a fine of six months' pay.

Earlier this year, the firehouse captain, Terrence Sweeney, retired with a demotion and was fined 90-thousand dollars.

Firefighter Michael Silvestri faces departmental and criminal charges for allegedly striking Walsh with a chair.

The city Department of Investigation found that Kane conspired with Sweeney to come up with a phony cover story that Walsh had fallen down stairs, and that McFarland aided the cover-up by failing to report the attack to supervisors.

Silvestri was suspended without pay for 30 days. He faces criminal charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Silvestri's lawyer, Michael Barone, has filed a motion stating his intention to present a ``psychiatric defense,'' citing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Silvestri, who is free on bail, is scheduled to have a pretrial hearing on October 18th.

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