BOSTON -- The two DJs who reported that Mayor Thomas M. Menino died in a car wreck in Florida have been fired, despite their insistence that the on-air reports were meant to be harmless April Fools' Day pranks.

American Radio Systems, which owns radio station WAAF-FM in Worcester announced yesterday it was firing Opie and Anthony, who anchor the station's "afternoon drive" show.

In addition, the station's general manager, Bruce Mittman, was suspended for a month and its program director, Dave Douglas, was suspended for a week, said Michael Milsom, vice president of American Radio Systems.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, but obviously American Radio Systems understood the gravity of the situation," Menino said in a statement yesterday. "Hopefully this incident will give all broadcasters pause for thought when they are thinking of making statements which are false and irresponsible."

On April 1, the duo reported for several hours that Menino, who was vacationing in Florida, had died when his car was hit head-on by a tractor trailer in Jacksonville.

Though he made some good-natured jokes about being "back from the dead" upon his return from Florida, Menino made it clear he was not amused by the stunt.

He said some relatives and friends believed the reports, and several called City Hall in tears. One relative even had a visitor arrive at her house offering condolences, he said.

Menino said he was further outraged when the DJs refused to apologize or take his calls the following day. Instead, they appeared to take the publicity stunt another step when they offered to be stockaded in City Hall plaza and allow Menino to throw pies at them.

The mayor filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Friday that said "station management and personnel blatantly disregarded the personal and public turmoil they were causing my family and the city."