Cranston’s deputy fire chief asked last week to seal a case documenting a disorderly conduct charge linked to his dispute with a fellow firefighter in September 2017.
Deputy Chief Paul Valletta Jr., 60, on Dec. 11 entered a not-guilty filing to one count of disorderly conduct, meaning the case will be expunged from the court record if he obeys the law for a year. Two weeks later, Valletta filed a motion seeking to expunge or seal the record.
A hearing on the motion to seal is set for Jan. 17, with Valletta asserting in an affidavit that he had never previously been convicted of a felony and that the case at hand had been disposed of, court records show.
The state police charged Valletta with simple assault and disorderly conduct (fighting and tumultuous behavior) after the dispute with Lt. Scott Bergantino at the Cranston fire station at 1155 Scituate Ave., at about 2 p.m. Sept. 9, 2017. Valletta, of 177 Gilbert Stuart Drive, in Warwick, was suspended after the incident and returned to duty on Oct. 23, of that year.
Valletta has denied that he committed any “acts” giving rise to any liability to Bergantino.