The city’s right to appeal the state Civil Service Commission reinstatement of former city police officer Alessandro Capobianco expires at the close of business Friday.

The civil service panel voted 5-0 to restore the officer with full back pay and senority, even reversing his five-day suspension for failing a drug test.

The panel also rebuked then mayor Dorothy A. Kelley Gay for firing the officer, one month before she handed Curtatone the reigns of the city, in an act of political retribution inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the state’s civil service protections.

The Board of Aldermen held a special executive session Monday to discuss the Capobianco matter, but those proceedings were closed to the public.

As of 9 a.m. today, Capobianco’s re-instatement had not been submitted to the City Clerk for inclusion in this evening’s regular board meeting.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who is Capobianco’s cousin, has recused himself from the case making Board President Bruce M. Desmond, in effect, the acting mayor in regards to the matter.