Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. Continues to Fight For His Pension

Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.’s appeal to win back his $43,000 disability pension has been transferred to the tax and administrative appeals session at New Britain Superior Court, which his attorney called an obvious progression of Maturo’s case, the New Haven Register reports. 

There will be a pretrial conference on July 24. Maturo is also seeking an additional $15,000 in damages from the state, the Register reports. 

Maturo believes the only thing standing between him and collecting an additional $43,000 is the fact he is a Republican in a Democratically-controlled State Capitol. 

And feeling he was wrong, the East Haven mayor, filed an appeal in Superior Court, New Haven last month, over the state’s rejection to give him his firefighter disability, which amounts to $43,000 annually, the New Haven Register reports. 

In 2013, it appeared Maturo was getting close to collecting the disability pension along with his mayor salary. 

The state legislature in 2013 forwarded a bill - Senate Bill 704 - that would allow retired municipal employees to start working for a town again while still collecting their full municipal pensions. The bill would mean Maturo, who has been receiving a disability pension since 1991 after he hurt his back as a firefighter, would make another $43,000 a year, according to the New Haven Register.

Maturo makes $75,000 a year as mayor of East Haven. He stopped collecting his $43,000-a-year pension in 2011, when he was first elected mayor, and has been fighting to get it reinstated ever since, according to the newspaper.

The Register reports that Maturo may have been denied the benefits because retirees can’t accept payment for employment in the same municipality they retired from. Essentially, Maturo is not eligible for his pension while he is being paid for his work as mayor, the Register reports. 

Should Mayor Maturo be able to collect his disability pension?