Firehouse brawl case ends quietly with $3.75M settlement

By JEFF HARRELL - STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
Assault with chair 5 years ago sparked lawsuit, FDNY shakeup

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The firefighter had demanded $100 million from the
city as the price for what he branded a toxic firehouse culture that led to
his being slammed in the face with a metal chair.
Yesterday, Robert Walsh, formerly of Annadale, settled for $3.75 million.
Walsh had testified that the New Year's Eve 2003 assault by Firefighter
Michael Silvestri was the culmination of nearly two years of anti-gay slurs.

"We are pleased that the matter has been resolved amicably," said city
spokeswoman Kate Ahlers, who declined further comment "out of respect for
the parties."

Walsh, 45, could not be reached for comment.
His attorney, Jonathan C. Reiter, did not return phone messages left at his Manhattan office last night. Co-counsel Glenn Herman confirmed the settlement but declined to discuss specifics of the agreement.

After Silvestri pleaded guilty to criminal charges and ent to prison for a year, Walsh sued the city and Silvestri for $100 million over the "permanent injuries" he said he suffered when his colleague assaulted him at Tottenville's Engine Co. 151/Ladder Co. 76 firehouse on Dec. 31, 2003.

The suit proceeded in Manhattan federal court in front of U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet. Attorneys had been scheduled to begin summations this morning following the two-week-long civil trial, in which a jury heard doctors testify through videotaped depositions that Walsh suffered eye, jaw and skull fractures and severe back injuries, which ended his FDNY career of seven years. Neurologist Dr. Melanie B. Shulman also said Walsh sustained "post-concussive syndrome" that resulted in "moderate to sev epression" and "moderate anxiety," as well as post-traumatic migraine headaches and memory loss as a result of the attack.

The hulking Walsh -- who stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall and now weighs close to 350 pounds -- took the stand last week with the aid of a cane and told jurors that firehouse supervisors, including former Caeeney, laughed off the verbal abuse he suffered. Walsh admitted on the stand he took Silvestri's slurs part of the day-to-day banter among firefighters. Sweeney and others tried to cover up the incident by telling doctors at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, that Walsh was hurt in a fall on the stairs. The lie cost Sweeney his FDNY career.

Reiter maintained the city was responsible for the injuries that cut Walsh's FDNY career short of a fully vested pension, since Silecity were locked in an "employer-employee relationship" at the time. City assistant corporation counsel Sosimo Fabian argued that the city had "no notice of Silvestri's propensity for violence," since Silvestri had no prior disciplinary record.

The attack was triggered by a bet between Walsh and another firefighter over Elvis Presley's birth date. When Walsh lost the bet, Silvestri chided Walsh with a string of slurs that were met with a biting comeback. Silvestri first threatened to hit Walsh with a metal chair, then he slammed the firefighter in the head from behind.

In March, Sweet ruled against the city, saying Sweeney failed to exercise reasonable care to control a subordinate. But the federal judge dismissed Walsh's other claims of negligence and
violations of the General Municipal Law against the city.