He beat the system — and pinned the city taxpayer to the mat.
A firefighter who retired on a $74,624 disability pension, only to compete in mixed-martial arts matches, will be allowed to keep collecting his tax-free checks for life even after being found fit to go back to work.
The city decided to throw in the towel in the groundbreaking case of John Giuffrida, 43, following a deadlocked vote last month by the Fire Department Pension Fund Board over whether he should have to return to his job once an independent medical review determined he was no longer disabled.
All the city officials on the board voted he should. All the fire-union officials voted he shouldn’t.
Giuffrida retired in 2003 with a diagnosis of asthma, lung disease and post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his long days at Ground Zero.
He told The Post last year that he didn’t want to end his 12-year career, but was booted on orders of FDNY doctors.
To restore his health, Giuffrida said he took up “an active life” that included martial arts.
When Post reports of his victories in grappling matches reached FDNY headquarters, he was asked to return for a medical review. Months later, it was conducted at St. Francis Hospital on Long Island. He passed.
That presented the pension board — under increasing criticism for rubber-stamping an exploding number of FDNY disability pensions — with a dilemma.
No firefighter in memory has been medically approved to return to work after retiring on disability.
Tom Butler, a spokesman for the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said its trustees on the pension board voted against his return to work because there was “still evidence that this individual is not fit for duty,” and they wanted him retested.
“In a break with the standard procedures, the city would not send the case back to the medical doctors for their final review, which is a violation of the law and is immediate grounds for [a court challenge] by Mr. Giuffrida,” said Butler.
Mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna called the union’s explanation a thin excuse for giving Giuffrida a free ride.
“The board already reviewed his medical records and determined he isn’t disabled,” said LaVorgna. “This was about one thing: using the process to stall. Now a firefighter who was ruled fit by a renowned hospital and the independent medical board will get a disability pension for the rest of his life.”
The board members knew that time was on Giuffrida’s side. Under pension system rules, retirees become immune to further city action on the 20th anniversary of their hiring, which, for Giuffrida, is Aug. 11. Another medical review and board vote would have pushed the case past the deadline.