Republicans have announced that they plan to call on Frank Ricci, the white firefighter whose reverse discrimination claim was rejected by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, to testify against Sotomayor in confirmation hearings set to begin on Monday. Here are some things you should know about the man.
Upbringing: Ricci was born in Wallingford, CT, a blue-collar town about 20 minutes outside New Haven. He has an uncle and two brothers who are also firefighters.
Dyslexia: Ricci has dyslexia, a learning disability that affects reading and writing skills. Ricci received poor marks during his years at Connecticut public schools, and his dyslexia most likely contributed.
During the Ricci vs. Stefano proceedings, lawyers for the firefighters highlighted Ricci's dyslexia. A legal brief filed in Supreme Court alleged that the disability obligated Ricci to "hir[e] someone, at considerable expense, to read onto audiotape the content of the books and study materials" so he could learn by listening.
Teaching and Consulting Work: Ricci's profile on the firefighting network fireengineering.com offers a long list of teaching and consulting jobs: instructor for new recruits; consultant for Yale, the FDNY and various corporate groups; trainer to the US military and SWAT teams.
In addition, Ricci is the author of numerous training manuals and DVDs, some of which are for sale online.
Camera-Readiness: Ricci is also an amateur filmmaker: He wrote and narrated "Smoke Showing," an educational video about the dangers of structural fires that features cast members from the firefighting television show "Rescue Me."
Ricci and the other plaintiffs in Ricci vs. Stefano created a fundraising website. Many of Ricci's television recent appearances can be found on the site.