Despite evidence and an admission from Fire Chief Thomas P. Ruchala that he altered the elevator inspection certificate for the Public Safety Building, the attorney general's office has declined to prosecute the matter.
Terrell Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the matter has been referred back to DPS with the recommendation that it be handled through the district attorney's office or as an employment matter, but said he does not know when his office will take its next steps.
"There's a team that will meet to decide what to do," Mr. Harris said. "There is no meeting scheduled at this time."
At issue is the permit for the rarely used wheelchair lift in the Public Safety Building, which was installed when the building was built in the late 1990s. Its inspection certificate had an expiration date of June 2002, and it was alleged that Chief Ruchala altered the certificate before an insurance safety inspection in 2009, changing the certificate's expiration date to 2015.
The Department of Public Safety became involved last July when the issue was reported by a part-time town employee and DPS sent Inspector Walter D. Zalenski Jr. to town to investigate.
The lift was immediately shut down and the altered certificate confiscated. The lift has since been inspected and reopened.
Mr. Zalenski's incident report states Chief Ruchala originally denied altering the certificate, before admitting that he did change it. The report concludes with Mr. Zalenski's recommendation to go forward with disciplinary and/or criminal prosecution as Chief Ruchala "willfully altered the inspection certificate of the wheelchair lift."
While the 28-page report was completed in September, it has not yet been released to the public. The Telegram & Gazette obtained a copy of the report from a private citizen who requested it as a public record.
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Joseph Becker declined to comment on the matter, stating that he had not seen the report, nor was he aware of its contents. He did say that when the board addresses the matter, it will be in executive session.
Chief Ruchala said he had not received the report, and that he had had no contact with DPS since the conclusion of the investigation in August.
"Until I actually see the report and get some advice, I'm not going to comment," he said. "What I did, I was trying to act in the best interests of the town."
Copyright 2012 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.All Rights Reserved
