# Former Springfield officer sues for pension



## Nachtwächter (Dec 9, 2005)

Former Springfield officer sues for pension

December 31, 2005

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --A former Springfield police officer who was convicted of manslaughter in 1991 has sued the city, as well as the local and state retirement boards in in effort to have his pension reinstated.

Joseph A. Accetta Jr., 56, of Longmeadow, sued in Hampden Superior Court earlier this month asking that a lower court's decision denying him his pension for 17 years of service be overturned.

Accetta was convicted in Hampden Superior Court on Dec. 29, 1991 for the December 1990 shooting death of Blase Brennan, 42, of West Springfield. He was sentenced to 12 to 20 years in prison.

Accetta shot Brennan twice in the abdomen while the two wrestled on the floor of a West Springfield bar. Accetta claimed in testimony at trial that he was drunk at the time.

Accetta applied to the Springfield Retirement Board for his pension in March 2004, which was approved 2-to-1 in June.

City lawyers, however, appealed and in July 2004, the state Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission terminated Accetta's pension.

In the new lawsuit, Accetta seeks relief from the rulings by the state and the lower court, arguing they were arbitrary and based on insufficient evidence.

Accetta contributed 5 percent of his regular pay for 17 years to the retirement system, according to the lawsuit.

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Information from: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/republican/index.ssf 
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company


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