SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks has been told to no longer represent the city as its fire chief, he told Spectrum News Friday afternoon.
"It's a vendetta, they would call it," Brooks said. "Political vendetta. Now, this is after 41 years of being here, being dedicated to this department and to the community."
Brooks has spent the last 13 years as chief. Before then, Brooks was a firefighter responding to Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Brooks said he got an undisclosed condition there, and about five months ago, he submitted a claim with the city.
"It wouldn't have meant me getting a penny more, or I wouldn't have benefited from it at all financially," he said. "And they completely ignored the application."
Brooks said his attorney sent a letter to the city, and then Friday, the mayor called him to City Hall. His claim had been denied, "and I was to hand in my cell phone, my car, my response vehicle; they shut my computer down before I left the building," Brooks said.
Brooks said he and Mayor Robert Palmieri have not had a working relationship since Brooks backed his opponent in the mayoral race. The chief referred to his leave as 'Utica politics.'
"It's perplexing; it's just puzzling," he said.
Brooks said he and his attorney are analyzing the situation. His response could include a lawsuit against the city.
The city of Utica's corporation council tells Spectrum News they do not comment on pending personnel matters, but confirmed that Brooks is on indeterminate, non-disciplinary leave.