Boston Bodybuilding Firefighter Acquitted of Disability Fraud

A Boston firefighter who claimed disability benefits due to a back injury but still competed as bodybuilder has been found not guilty of fraud by a federal jury.

Albert Arroyo was acquitted by a jury in U.S. District Court in a case that drew a lot of media attention. Arroyo testified that exercising helped ease his back pain and that he feared if he did not exercise, he would have to undergo spine surgery.

He applied for full disability retirement benefits in 2008. A doctor supported his claim that he was “totally and permanently” disabled. After they learned he was competing as a bodybuilder and playing on a baseball team, city officials tried to get him back to work. He never returned. The retirement board terminated his benefits and Arroyo appealed.

Arroyo’s lawyer, Timothy Watkins, said that the jury was able to consider all of the evidence amid a lot of public criticism. “The public didn’t know the facts. The system worked,” Watkins said.