Anthony Vaglica, an ex-chief in the New Hyde Park Fire Department whose membership was terminated by the New Hyde Park Board of Fire Commissioners for misconduct in 2008, has applied for reinstatement with the department’s Protection Co. 2.
“I was suspended for about 10 months and then I was removed. I was dismissed from the fire department. We know that it was done unfairly,” Vaglica said. “There’s nowhere that states in the law that you can’t come back.”
The members of Protection Co. 2 tabled a vote on Vaglica’s reinstatement at a meeting on Monday night, according to New Hyde Park Trustee Richard Coppola, village board liaison to the fire department.
His reinstatement would also require approval by New Hyde Park Fire Department Chief Brian Sherwood and the five-member board of fire commissioners, according to Rich Stein, chairman of the fire commissioners board.
Stein declined to comment on Vaglica’s reinstatement request, but registered a strong opinion about Vaglica when Vaglica challenged him in a race for fire commissioner in 2011.
“He’s a bully. He was bullying a lot of people in the fire department. We can’t have that. We can’t have people walking around strong-arming people,” Stein said.
Vaglica, who was initially suspended in 2007 after serving 24 years as volunteer firefighter, was then terminated after a hearing officer found him guilty of misconduct.
The decision to terminate Vaglica was upheld by a Nassau County Supreme Court order in 2009 after Vaglica unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit to be reinstated.
Vaglica was removed from the department for allegedly encouraging his brother to hit fellow New Hyde Park firefighter Christopher Chiofalo and for subsequently speaking to John DiVello, who said then a deputy chief “in a hostile and inappropriate manner.”
Vaglica said his brother “smacked” Chiofalo because he owed the brother money. But he doesn’t deny the incident involving DiVello.
“As far as cursing out the chief, that’s true,” Vaglica said.
He has said he was also accused of gambling in the firehouse, but implied that charge was a spurious one.
“They couldn’t throw me out. So then they tried to throw me out for gambling in the firehouse,” Vaglica said.
Vaglica said he was “blackballed” by the fire commissioners who were jealous of him because he owns a successful construction business, VAR Home Improvements in New Hyde Park.
DiVello is one of the fire commissioners who would ultimately vote on whether to reinstate him. Sherwood declined to comment on the case.
Vaglica had been a member of Enterprise Co. 1. Vagilca said he’s applying to Protection Co. 2 because his son, Rocco, is also applying to join that company and because he doesn’t want to stir up any bad blood.
“There’s still some people who have sour taste against me for the wrong reasons. I don’t want anybody to have hard feelings,” he said. “I’m not coming back for any revenge. I’m coming back with my son and to help the community.”
Vaglica said he consistently maintained an 85 percent response rate for fire emergencies throughout his tenure in the department and simply wants to serve the community again.
“The volunteer services are getting slim. They can use every little bit,” he said.
