Disabled in one Florida department, working in another. Pasco planning chief gets disability payment from Tampa.

Article by Mike Deeson WTSP-TV:

She was injured on the job as a Tampa firefighter and is receiving $34,000 a year in disability payments, but now Abbie Bennewitz is working at Pasco Fire and Rescue as the Personnel/Special Projects Chief.

The job requirements for the position say a person holding the job must have the physical strength to pass an agility test. The job description also says the position may involve climbing a ladder, pushing, pulling, bending, kneeling, stooping and running.

Some on the Tampa Police and Fire Pension Board suggest Bennewitz is violating the law by collecting the disability payments. Chapter 175.191-(7) states if a firefighter is receiving disability income and is no longer disabled, the board shall direct the trustees of the pension fund to discontinue those payments.

Bennewitz, who maintains she is disabled and deserves the payments, has been working for Pasco Fire and Rescue for several years. We first told you about her more than two years ago when we uncovered that Bennewitz had been working as a fire inspector in Pasco since 2006.

At the time the Chairman of the Pension Board, Tampa Police Detective Patrick Lynch, was surprised when we told him about Bennewitz’s job. Lynch said he believed their rules precluded her from receiving the disability checks and doing the work she was doing.

Now Tampa Fire Captain Wesley Adwell, who is a Pension Board trustee, says he feels obligated to tell the board and talk about discontinuing the disability pension.

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