Two North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue firefighters have been suspended without pay because, officials said, each man failed a drug test that they had to take due to past charges on drug-related offenses.
The NHRFR serves West New York, Union City, North Bergen, Guttenberg and Weehawken.
Glen Teta, a 13-year veteran firefighter, and Edward Banoff, who was hired last year, were suspended without pay last month. Teta was suspended Nov. 9 from his $60,000 annual salary position, while Banoff was suspended one day earlier from his position, which earned him a $32,000 salary.
Teta and Banoff have been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing within the next few weeks. Officials could ask that both firefighters be terminated because they failed to live up to an agreement they signed last year, after allegedly having drug problems.
"They both agreed to be monitored for testing when they signed the agreement last year," said NHRFR co-director Michael Diorio. "They both tested positive, so they were suspended without pay pending the litigation. They have a right to a hearing and a right to appeal, when a final decision will be made."
Bruce Leder, the attorney for the North Hudson Firefighters Association, will represent the suspended firefighters in their appeal process.
Union City police arrested Teta in November of 2000 on charges that he tried to purchase narcotics while he was off-duty. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office decided not to prosecute Teta at the time when Teta signed an agreement to remain clear of drugs. He was suspended without pay from Nov. 16 through Dec. 28, 2000 on the arrest charge, but signed the agreement to keep his job.
Banoff first got into trouble when NHRFR officials determined that Banoff was under the influence of drugs while fighting a fire in August of 2000, when he was still a probationary firefighter, according to officials. Banoff was suspended without pay for four months and his probationary period was extended until December of 2000, when he returned to duty.
Both firefighters signed agreements last year that they would submit to random drug testing in an effort to save their careers. However, according to a reliable source, the two firefighters failed their first random drug test, taken earlier this year.
According to the source, Teta tested positive for traces of marijuana, while the test said that Banoff had traces of cocaine and morphine in his system.
"We don’t give random testing to all of our members," Diorio said. "But after the first incidents, we decided to give them a second chance to get their lives in order. They both agreed to have the random tests. This was the first test we gave to both of them and they failed."
No tolerance
Diorio said that drug use among firefighters cannot be tolerated.
"We’re dealing with the safety of the general public and the safety of the people that they work with," Diorio said. "When we suspend a firefighter for a violation, it’s usually with pay, but in a case like this, it can’t be tolerated. We feel very strong about this case. These people knew the rules and knew what was expected of them and couldn’t handle it. How could we let this go?"
Diorio said that the NHRFR generally gives members who have had drug-related problems one chance to rehabilitate themselves, but failure to rehabilitate would lead to termination.
Another firefighter, Richard Prisco, was arrested in May of 2000 in Union City for possession of drug-related paraphernalia, namely a crack pipe. Prisco was suspended for a month. Since he has remained clean since, the drug charge was dropped and Prisco remains an active member of the NHRFR.