CASE NO. 81-CRD-6-81Workers’ Compensation Commission
NOVEMBER 18, 1982
The Claimant-Appellee was represented by Robert B. Halloran, Esq.
The Respondent-Appellant was represented by Mark A. Dubois, Esq., Office of Corporation Counsel.
This Petition for Review from the August 11, 1981 Decision on Motion to Reopen Finding and Award by Commissioner John Arcudi, Acting for the Sixth District Commissioner, was argued on May 21, 1982, before a Compensation Review Panel consisting of Commissioners Gerald Kolinsky, Robin Waller and Rhoda Loeb.
Gerald Kolinsky, Commissioner, Robin Waller, Commissioner, Rhoda Loeb, Commissioner
FINDING AND AWARD
1. On February 5, 1980, Commissioner John Arcudi, Acting for the Sixth District, entered a Finding and Award in favor of the claimant-appellee.
2. By Motion to Reopen said Finding and Award, the Respondent-Appellant submitted evidence of the claimant’s arrest and conviction of crimes involving the manner in which the claimant procured a promotion.
3. Notwithstanding such motion by the employer, the Commissioner declined to reopen the Finding and Award, and it is from such refusal that the City of New Britain appeals. Therefore, a decision of the Commissioner, refusing to reopen said Finding and Award on February 5, 1980, is AFFIRMED.
OPINION
This is an Appeal by the Employer, City of New Britain, from an Award of Compensation in favor of the claimant. The essence of the Respondent-Employer’s contention is that the Commissioner erroneously concluded that the claimant was an employee on the date that he was injured.
The operative facts disclosed that the claimant was a detective-sergeant of the New Britain Police Department on November 8, 1978; that he injured his left knee on said date while investigating a homicide matter; that the City paid for the claimant’s medical expenses and paid him full pay for his lost time in late 1978 and the first months of 1979.
During the Summer of 1979, charges were made to the effect that the claimant had obtained his promotion to sergeant by fraud. The Commissioner “. . . found that the claimant, whether or not he was legally a sergeant, was nonetheless an employee of the City of New Britain on November 8, 1978” and ordered payment of total disability benefits and payment of all medical expenses.
The Commissioners’ Award was made on February 5, 1980.
On October 6, 1980, the claimant was found guilty in Superior Court, Hartford County, of 5 counts of bribery and conspiracy in connection with the fraudulent procurement of his sergeant’s position.
Thereupon, the Respondent City moved to reopen the Finding and Award to attempt to show that the criminal conviction conclusively demonstrated that the claimant’s appointment as a sergeant was void ab initio, and that therefore there was no employer-employee relationship on the date of the injury.
On August 11, 1981, the Commissioner denied the City’s Motion to Reopen, whereupon this appeal was taken.
As an Appellate Review Panel, we may not disturb the Commissioner’s Finding of Fact “unless they result from an incorrect application of the law to those facts or from an inference illegally or unreasonably drawn from them.” Balkus v. Terry Steam Turbine Co., 167 Conn. 170, 174 (1974).
We do not believe that the Commissioner has incorrectly applied the law to the facts of this case, and agree with him that at the time of the injury, the claimant was an “employee” of the City.
We affirm the Commissioner’s Decision on the Motion to Reopen the Finding and Award of Compensation of February 5, 1980.