Former Concord fire chief Robert Vezina, who in August was indicted for witness tampering and placed on paid administrative leave, will return to work today as Concord's deputy fire chief.

City Manager Tom Aspell declined in August to say why Vezina had been placed on leave or whether the leave was related to the criminal charge. The criminal case is pending. Yesterday, Aspell said personnel rules prevented him from saying why the city is returning Vezina to work.

Vezina's attorney, Eugene "Chip" Sullivan of Concord, said he did not know the city's reasons for lifting Vezina's administrative leave. He said the leave and criminal charge, which alleges that Vezina told his estranged wife to drop criminal charges against his then-girlfriend, Tammy Dowd, has unfairly stained Vezina's reputation.

In addition to being put on leave in August, Vezina was also demoted from chief to deputy chief. Aspell declined to explain why, citing personnel rules.

When Vezina, 44, of Concord, returns to the fire department this morning, he will be the deputy chief in charge of technical services, which means he will supervise fire prevention, communications, and the fire alarm and traffic divisions. Those departments include dispatchers, fire investigations, inspections, and maintenance of alarm boxes and traffic lights.

Acting Fire Chief Tim McGinley said Vezina's salary as a deputy chief will be $78,416 a year. As chief, a job Vezina held for about four months, he earned $90,625 a year.

Sullivan said Vezina has entered a not guilty plea to the witness tampering charge, which was handed down by a Merrimack County grand jury.

The charge stemmed from a May argument between Vezina's wife, Sybil Vezina, and Dowd. Dowd accused Sybil Vezina of barging into her home and scaring her daughter, who was home alone at the time. Sybil Vezina said Dowd later called her and threatened to kill her if she returned to her home or contacted her again.

The Concord police investigated and charged Dowd, then a city employee, with criminal threatening and harassment. Dowd took out a restraining order against Sybil Vezina but later dropped it, telling the court she and Sybil Vezina had agreed not to contact each other. Dowd later resigned her job with the city's finance department.

The indictment against Robert Vezina alleges that he told his wife to drop charges against Dowd. That statement, according to the indictment, amounted to witness tampering, a felony that can carry a 3½- to 7-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $4,000.

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By ANNMARIE TIMMINS

Monitor staff