Hampden DA Mark Mastroianni said Moran, who at the time was acting fire chief, ordered a fire truck to a fake call.
Holyoke Deputy Fire Chief William Moran, left, and Holyoke Mayor Elaine Pluta, right.HOLYOKE – Mayor Elaine A. Pluta said Monday she will be guided by an individual’s right to due process and not politics in dealing with Deputy Fire Chief William P. Moran, who is the subject of a criminal investigation and is on paid administrative leave.
“I want to assure the citizens of Holyoke that all of my personnel decisions, and those of my appointed commissions regarding personnel, including the William Moran matter, will be fair and ultimately in the best interest of the city of Holyoke,” Pluta said.
The emailed comments were Pluta’s first detailed remarks on Moran, who worked on her 2009 election campaign. The incident involving Moran began June 15.
On June 27, Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni requested a criminal complaint be issued against Moran after he said Moran sent a fire truck on a fake call to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside June 15. Moran at the time was acting fire chief.
A show-cause hearing on Mastroianni’s request Friday was continued in Springfield District Court to Aug. 29 at 9 a.m.
David P. Hoose, Moran’s lawyer, declined to comment on the criminal complaint Mastroianni seeks against Moran.
The three-member Fire Commission, which the mayor appoints, is authorized under city law to hire, discipline and fire the chief.
Pluta said that while it might be politically popular, and the desired step of candidates running against her as she seeks reelection, for her to step in and take action against Moran, she won’t.
“It has been my policy, and I believe my duty, to ensure all employees of the city of Holyoke be treated fairly and afforded all of their due process rights prior to any final determinations,” Pluta said.
Officials have declined to comment on reports that one of the Fire Commission’s executive-session votes on Moran was to suspend him without pay for five days. A deputy fire chief makes $68,775 a year.
Moran hasn’t worked since the June 15 incident. Initially, the Fire Commission put Moran on paid administrative leave.
Pluta said failure to give an employee due process rights can leave the city vulnerable to “costly legal consequences.”
“I issue this statement in full recognition that others in the mayor’s race have chosen to politicize this issue for their own political benefit and call on me to improperly treat this matter politically. Let me be clear, I will not politicize this matter,” Pluta said.