Firefighter Accused of Stealing $4,800 in Benefits After Being Cleared for Duty

A grand jury has indicted a New York firefighter on charges he stole $4,800 in workers’ compensation benefits for nearly three months after being medically cleared to return to work. Mathew G. Taylor, 34, of Alexandria Bay, was injured in January 2013 during a training accident with the Alexandria Bay Volunteer Fire Department and was declared unable to work. That June, however, Taylor’s doctor cleared him to return to firefighting. Instead, Taylor is accused of cashing weekly $400 volunteer firefighters’ benefit checks. He is due back in Jefferson County Court on Aug. 25 a...