By: Chris Munzing
The widow of a Long Beach police sergeant is claiming that the City of Long Beach has incorrectly terminated her health insurance, roughly six years after her husband's death. But the city is saying that the only mistake it made was not cutting her loose three years earlier.
Denise Wolstad's husband, Long Beach Police Department Sgt. Walter Wolstad, died in February 1998, when he suffered a heart attack as he drove home from a shift. His widow says that then-Police Benevolent Association President Richard Bart and then-Police Commissioner Thomas Brown told her that her husband's death was to be classified as "in the line of duty."
Under that classification, Denise Wolstad would be entitled to lifelong health coverage from the city. This was her understanding, until she was notified on Sept. 4 that her coverage had been terminated, effective Aug. 31.
According to Wolstad, the city informed her that her husband's death was never listed as in the line of duty, and therefore she was only entitled to 36 months of coverage after her husband's death. Because of poor bookkeeping, Wolstad continued to receive coverage 3 1/2 years longer than she should have, said acting City Manager Charles Theofan. "It was never classified in the line of duty," Theofan said of her husband's death. "Since the time of Sergeant Wolstad's death, there wasn't any indication that his death would be listed as in the line of duty." Both Bart and Brown have since died.
"Because these men have passed away, we're going to forget what they've said?" Wolstad said in a phone from her East Meadow home. "I don't think the city is being fair at all. I thought that they would do the right thing."
Theofan said that in none of Sergeant Wolstad's records or in his personnel file does it list the cause of death as in the line of duty. "Maybe it wasn't written down, but all of these officers and officials who heard this can corroborate it," Denise Wolstad said. "Are we saying that [Bart and Brown] didn't know what they were talking about? We were told this. I was never notified that he wasn't [classified as killed in the line of duty.]"
Theofan said that he and former City Manager Glen Spiritis met with Mrs. Wolstad several times in September to explain that she could continue to receive coverage, provided she paid for it herself. "I just can't afford it," she said, adding that she is currently looking for a personal plan to help her deal with a medical issue.
Letters on Mrs. Wolstad's behalf have been sent to City Hall by her physician, a nurse and the South Hempstead fire commissioner. Her husband was a volunteer for the South Hempstead Fire Department. A representative of the Flinch & Bruns Funeral Home, John Priest Jr., wrote a letter confirming that he had spoken with Bart and Brown when preparing for Sergeant Wolstad's funeral.
"Both of these gentlemen gave me their assurances that the death of Sergeant Wolstad was declared to be an in-the-line-of-duty death," Priest wrote on Aug. 30. Priest added that the funeral was held with full police honors, including escorts from local police departments.
Theofan said, however, that he had to play by the rules, and can't have the residents of the city paying for health insurance that Wolstad is not entitled to.
