Former fireman sues city

CONCORD – A former Nashua firefighter who was fired in 2001 amid accusations that he was harassing a co-worker has sued the city, claiming he’s been shortchanged on his pension.

Robert McNamara, 56, formerly of Hollis, and now living in Massachusetts, filed suit against the city last week in U.S. District Court. The city has yet to respond.

McNamara seeks to have his pension adjusted to reflect his best years of pay after 26 years with the Nashua Fire Department, which is now known as Nashua Fire Rescue. McNamara was a lieutenant when he was placed on leave in 2000, and later fired. He made just over $62,000 in each of his last two years with the department, but pensions are based on the highest three years. McNamara argues that he was wrongfully fired, and that his pension should be based on $62,000 for all three years.

McNamara was sacked after he was accused of harassing a female firefighter, who also was his neighbor and a former business partner. City police investigated the matter and produced a lengthy report documenting numerous allegations of harassment, all of which McNamara disputed.

McNamara was also criminally charged with violating a restraining order the woman took out against him, but he was cleared after a trial at Nashua District Court, where a judge ruled that the case was essentially a credibility contest between the two firefighters.

The Board of Fire Commissioners put McNamara on leave in 2000 and later fired him, apparently as a result of the allegations.