The disabled Councilman, John McLaughlin :
Less than a year after retirement, McLaughlin placed second in Hempstead's 2002 Triathlon.
A Post review found McLaughlin competing in other races including:
* Long Beach's 10-mile Memorial Day run on May 30.
* The Long Island half-marathon in May of this year and last.
* The Staten Island 5K run in April.
* The July 2008 Massapequa Firecracker 5K run.
* Long Beach's annual Turkey Trot in 2007, where he finished first.
* Long Beach's 4-mile Snowflake run in 2008.
Reached last week, McLaughlin defended his pension as legitimate. He read from the FDNY medical and pension board papers that diagnosed him with "bronchial asthma." Under the so-called lung bill, a condition that results in reduced respiratory function is presumed job-related for pension purposes.
"In the last year on the Fire Department, I started getting shortness of breath. I had an episode where I couldn't stop coughing," said McLaughlin, who worked at Ladder 43 in Harlem before his light-duty reassignment.
"I didn't want to leave the Fire Department. I love the Fire Department. I didn't have a choice," said McLaughlin, whose son-in-law is an FDNY firefighter.
Weasel Talk: “In the last year on the Fire Department, I started getting shortness of breath.”
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I would say his problem is severe shortness of manhood, dignity and honor.