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Congressman Drops Wildland Suit Against Billings FD
Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg has agreed to drop his controversial lawsuit against the Billings Fire Department over the handling of a 2008 wildland fire on his ranch. The suit, filed in 2010, alleged that Billings firefighters were negligent in failing to fully extinguish the fire on July 2, 2008, allowing it rekindle on July 4, 2008 destroying 1200 acres. The Congressman has characterized the dismissal as necessary because “politics” have been injected into the case. However, the suit has had political implications from the day it was filed. Back in 2010, Rehberg strategically waited until he had won a key…
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Ohio Lieutenant Indicted For Fire Truck Parts Scam
An Ohio volunteer fire lieutenant and a mechanic have been indicted and charged with operating a $180,000 fire apparatus parts scam. Milton Township Volunteer Fire Department lieutenant Phillip Bruss and mechanic Dale Butter were charged with theft and receiving stolen property after they were arrested for scamming fire departments through a company, Northeast Ohio Emergency Vehicles, which dealt online in fire truck parts.
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LA Captain Accused of Bogus Payroll Scheme
A Los Angeles fire captain is on paid administrative leave as the LAFD investigates how he was able to receive nearly $80,000 in additional compensation from the department in 2010. Captain Eric Vasquez was assigned to supervise time sheet recordkeeping, and is alleged to have found a way to receive compensation for roughly 23 weeks of vacation time plus his regular salary. In 2010 Vasquez received $185,645, while in 2009 he received $168,494. The discrepancies were discovered when the department switched from a manual to a computerized time tracking system. LAWeekly took a sarcastic swipe at the LAFD over the…
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Swedish Firefighter Wins Reverse Discrimination Suit
Employment discrimination suits have become an unfortunate commonplace in the American fire service. Roughly two out of every 5 suits involving fire departments is a discrimination suit, with aproximately 40% of those being reverse discrimination cases. In Sweden, a man seeking a summer job as a firefighter made unusual headlines last summer when he sued a fire department alleging he was wrongfully passed over due to unlawful set asides intended for women and “people with foreign backgrounds”. Last spring, Simon Wallmark applied for a summer job with the Södertörns Brandförsvarsförbund (SBFF) fire department, a suburban department outside of Stockholm. Wallmark had previous experience as firefighter, had…
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Mass Firefighter and Justice Department sue Pittsfield for USERRA Violation.
Pittsfield firefighter Jeffrey Rawson and the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) alleging that the city discriminated and retaliated against Rawson by denying him a promotion due to his military obligations as a Navy reservist. The lawsuit claims that Rawson ranked second on a 2009 promotional list for lieutenant, but in September, 2010 was skipped in favor of a firefighter who ranked lower. The department allegedly cited military related absenteeism as grounds for bypassing Rawson. Rawson filed a complaint with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment…
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Iowa Volunteer Fire Department the Victim of Insider Money Mischief
Another investigation into alleged financial misdealings by a trusted fire service leader is making headlines, this time in Iowa where a state audit has concluded that the fire chief “misspent” at least $96,000. Denison Volunteer Fire Department’s former fire chief, Mike McKinnon, who joined the department in January, 1999 and resigned in January, 2010, stands accused by the State Auditor David Vaudt of making $96,000 in “improper and unsupported disbursements”, including some to fictitious companies and others owned by McKinnon. The 20 month investigation was prompted by the concern of local officials, and focused on the period from 2005 to…
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Fire Company Hit with Multi-Million Dollar Verdict
A New Jersey volunteer fire company that responded to a wires down incident in 2007, has been hit with a major portion of a $20.5 million verdict in favor of a man who was shocked and traumatically injured. Last Friday, a jury found the Northside Engine Company, of Tinton Falls, to be 60 percent responsible for the injuries sustained by William Hagerman on February 15, 2007. The jury concluded that the remaining 40% share was attributable to Jersey Central Power & Light. The incident occurred during an ice storm. The fire company was dispatched to reported wires down, and according…
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Ohio Firefighter Alleges Retaliation Over Refusing Prior Promotion
Today’s burning question: I’m a black firefighter and in September, 2010 I placed 5th on a promotional exam for lieutenant. Last December, the chief offered me a promotion to lieutenant, but when it was disclosed that I was selected out of turn because of my race, I turned it down. Now the chief has gone past me on the list, and I think it’s because I didn’t take the promotion last year. Do I have a case? In a nutshell, that is the story of firefighter William Phelps of the Berea Fire Department in Berea, Ohio. Dave Statter covered this…
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Not Your Typical Embezzlement Case: Virginia Chief Fights Back
There have been a number of fire service embezzlement cases that have been covered in this blog the past few years. Most involve the theft of large sums from volunteer fire companies by trusted officials. A few involve thefts by elected union officials from career firefighter unions. This one is different. A chief officer from Virginia has filed a multi-million dollar civil suit alleging that embezzlement charges brought against him were part of an elaborate scheme to damage his reputation and cause him emotional distress. Martinsville Fire & EMS Assistant Chief John Russell was terminated from the department on June 30,…
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Illinois Acting Chief Charged With Felony Theft
An acting fire chief in Illinois has been placed on paid administrative leave and charged with one count of theft related to the falsification of hours. Deputy Chief Ronald Pieri of the City of Highwood Fire Department is facing felony charges brought by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. The Chicago Tribune has cited court documents that indicate the amount in question is between $10,000 and $100,000 for hours not actually worked. City officials have indicated they are unsure about whether Chief Pieri is accused of falsely claiming regular hours or overtime hours. Chief Pieri’s wife, Kathy Murphy-Pieri, is on the…
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New Haven… Again… When Will It End
A group of seven black New Haven firefighters have filed suit against the city seeking to again litigate the validity of the 2003 promotional examinations that gave rise to the US Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DeStefano. Gary Tinney , Linda D. Cohens , Bernard McNeil , Anthony Reese , Curtis Tolson , Michael Neal and Anthony Wells sued the City of New Haven and IAFF Local 825 alleging the 2003 promotion process violated their due process, equal protection, and 14th Amendment rights by using a testing process that adversely impacted African-American promotion candidates. The suit follows the plaintiffs’ previous efforts…
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California Union Treasurer Charged With Embezzlement of $63k
A career fire captain with the Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District in Sonoma County, California has been charged with stealing more than $63,000 from the firefighters’ union. Michael Bechtold, 39, was arrested last Wednesday on charges of embezzlement. Bechtold was the treasurer of the Rancho Adobe Firefighters Association, from whom the funds were stolen. Sheriff’s investigators claim he used the money on season tickets for the San Jose Sharks and a trip to Disney Land. If you have been following this blog for a while, you no doubt realize the fire service is having a serious problem with theft in…
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