Mareno to lead fire department
Schenectady assistant chief promoted to head 109-member force
A seasoned firefighter with nearly 31 years on the job is the city’s new fire chief.
On Monday, Mayor Gary Mccarthy promoted Assistant Chief Donald Mareno to lead the roughly 109-member department.
The selection comes nearly two months after Raymond A. Senecal retired on March 11 after eight years as chief.
On Tuesday, Mccarthy said he planned to hold a formal swearing-in for Mareno sometime early next week.
It’s likely he’ll take the oath of office at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Asked why Mareno was the right person for the job, Mccarthy would only say “we’ll get into those details when I actually do the announcement.”
Mareno declined comment Tuesday to honor the mayor’s wishes to not speak publicly about the leadership move until Monday’s promotion.
Like his police counterpart, the fire chief serves at the pleasure of the mayor.
Mareno’s elevation is expected to trigger several other promotions within the department.
Since joining the department in August of 1991, he has risen through the ranks, having previously served as a deputy chief ▶
vice, federal authorities said.
Otilio Millan III, 33, of Broadalbin admitted that, from December 2020 to November 2021, he opened mailed packages in order to steal gift cards and cash while working at several post offices in Albany, including the Terminal Street Station and the Stuyvesant Plaza Station, according to U.S. Attorney Carla Freeman and Matthew Modafferi of the Postal Service’s office of the inspector general.
Millan, who pleaded guilty to mail theft, faces up to five years in prison when sentenced in September.
Millan has also agreed to pay restitution, officials said.