NP Wins marathon battle for Marblehead officer - Arbitrator highly critical of Town officials

NP Attorney Gary Nolan recently represented Marblehead officer Chris Gallo in his 4-year battle to restore his job and his good name. We were very pleased, but not a bit surprised, that the Arbitrator’s decision completely vindicated Officer Gallo. Her decision mirrored exactly our arguments from day one of this case (see news report below). Ever since Chris blew the whistle on the hateful conduct of a former employee (carved a swastika into another officer's car), it was clear that there would be payback, and his job and reputation were on the chopping block. As was pointed out by the arbitrator, the most troubling thing about this case is the lengths to which so many agents of the Town all just went along with, or turned a blind eye to, the malicious and unfair treatment of this 27-year, veteran officer.

The arbitrator not only ordered Officer Gallo to be reinstated with back pay and all benefits, but she also took the rare step of ordering payments of all retroactive overtime and detail compensation. The arbitrator strongly rejected every single allegation levied by the Town, and highly criticized the actions of the police administration, including particularly the Chief’s shocking order that investigators (1) not question witnesses they knew had lied about Gallo and who were out for revenge, (2) the Chief's releasing to the media information about Gallo known to be misleading or wrong, and (3) for including allegations against Gallo that Chief King knew to be false. From top to bottom, the arbitrator’s award is an indictment of Marblehead’s officials, and a clear exoneration of Officer Gallo, a loyal son of Marblehead. As noted clearly in her 48-page ruling, Gallo was the victim in this case.

Read the decision here

Read news coverage of our efforts in this case here

Nolan Perroni wins important case in New Hampshire - Board rules termination of female Deputy Fire Marshall was an "injustice"

Nolan Perroni recently won an important case on behalf of a female NEPBA member formerly employed by the New Hampshire Department of Safety. In a case litigated by attorneys Peter Perroni and Gary Nolan, the New Hampshire Personnel Appeals Board ruled that the Commissioner of Safety improperly terminated the employment of a Deputy Fire Marshall in 2021. The Board found expressly that the employee did not obstruct an investigation as alleged and that any alleged violation of a work rule could have been addressed by a simple letter of warning.

Importantly, the Board also found it concerning that male supervisors who had been involved in related investigations were allowed to either resign or transfer to different departments within the State. Following multiple days of hearing spanning several months, the Board ruled that the termination of the employee was an “injustice” and ordered the rescission of the termination and her reinstatement to her position.

Nolan Perroni wins holiday pay arbitration for NEPBA / Middlesex Sheriff's Officer's Assoc.

NP Partner Peter Perroni recently won an important arbitration victory for the hundreds of hard working corrections officers employed by the Middlesex Sheriff's Office. Following the negotiation of a new holiday pay provision in the parties' contract, the union learned that since October 2023, the MSO was not paying the new holiday pay benefit to officers who swapped shifts onto a holiday. The NEPBA took the matter to arbitration, and on January 22, 2025, an arbitrator agreed with the union. His order upheld Local 500's grievance, and he ordered that all officers denied the benefit since October 2023 be fully compensated.

Congratulations to Local 500 - as ususal, nice work fighting for your members!

To read the Arbitration Award, click here

Nolan Perroni wins 5-year battle for NEPBA Tyngsboro Police Sgt. Mark Bourque - Arbitrator Orders Reinstatement with Full Compensation back to 2021

NP attorney Gary Nolan represented NEPBA Local 8B's Mark Bourque, a Tyngsboro Police Sergeant terminated in 2021, in a marathon battle to clear his name and reclaim the job he performed so well for 27-years. On January 10, 2025, after 7-days of testimony, an Arbitrator completely rejected every single allegation levied by the the Town, and ordered that Sgt. Bourque be reinstated to his position with full back pay, including lost details, overtime, and wages, all with interest, back to 2021.

By way of summary, Sgt. Bourque was one of several individuals (including licensed medical professionals) who received medication prescriptions over a period of years from a physician's assistant (PA). Uknown to Bourque and the others involved, the PA, who was licensed for decades to issue prescriptions, had not complied with his own internal review process. Bourque, the only patient charged in connection with the investigation, was eventually fully cleared by the courts. Importantly, the District Attorney's office authored an internal memorandum as early as January 2021, in which it determined that (1) there was no probable cause for the charges against Bourque, (2) the prescriptions issued were for legitimate medical needs, and (3) there was no evidence of abuse. The town witheld that important document from the union until after it fired Sgt. Bourque. That document, and the Police Administration's wilfull failure to disclose it to the union, Sgt. Bourque, or the Town's Select Board, was central to the union's arguments in the case.

As you can see from the decision, the Arbitrator agreed entirely with Sgt. Bourque, who he found to be completely credible. The Arbitrator found absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing by Sgt. Bourque, and also that that the Town's allegations, admittedly, were mostly based on speculation. We could not be happier for Sgt. Bourque and NEPBA Local 8B.

Click here to read the decision