A disabled military veteran is suing the City of Boston and Fire Commissioner Paul Burke, alleging that officials unlawfully used a new cadet program aimed at diversifying the department to sidestep a longstanding hiring preference for veterans and hire less qualified candidates.

In a complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court in September, Jason Finn of East Boston and the veterans advocacy group InnoVets claimed that fire department leaders allowed cadets to be hired as full-time firefighters without legally required oversight and bypassed veterans who were more qualified.

The lawsuit, previously reported by the Boston Herald , says Finn scored 99 on a statewide entrance exam and was “tied at the highest rank” on the eligibility list for vacancies.

But the complaint says Finn “was

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