For the second time in 10 days a volunteer with Chancellor Volunteer Fire & Rescue in Spotsylvania County, Virginia has been charged with a sex crime. The Spotsylvania County Sheriff says, as in the first case, a fire department vehicle was used as transportation when the sexual assault occurred.
In light of the new information Chancellor administrative chief Kevin Dillard told Amy Umble at Fredericksburg.com, "We would be doing a disservice to the citizens of the county if we didn't make drastic changes." Dillard described the situation as "sickening".
According to Umble, rescue lieutenant William Byrd is in the Rappahannock Regional Jail, held without bond, on charges of having sex with a minor and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Byrd is accused of having sexual contact with a 17-year-old student of the schools’ firefighter and EMS classes.
The investigation was delayed while a detective waited for copies of Byrd’s emails from yahoo.com, Timm said.
On May 14, volunteer firefighter Justin Baber was accused of statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Umble wrote an article on May 17 listing some of the recent problems at Chancellor. Click here to read it.
Also from Umble's interview with Dillard:
"Maybe the right thing to do is to not allow people underage in the station, in light of what's happening, until we can get a better handle on this," he said.
The department also recently announced stricter rules regarding the response vehicles. Both Baber and Byrd are accused of using one of the department's Crown Victorias in their alleged crimes.
A volunteer firefighter is being charged with rape after police responded to a sex offense involving a 13-year-old girl.
Spotsylvania police say Justin Baber, a 23-year-old volunteer with the Chancellor Volunteer Fire Department, met the girl in the department's response vehicle after a series of text messages.
Police met with the parents of the female, who advised them that Baber received a text message by accident when the girl thought she was sending a text to female friend.
When the girl sent a message saying, "I don't think I know you," Baber continued the messaging and asked the girl if she lived in Spotsylvania.
Eventually, he asked if she could sneak out and meet him if he came to her residential subdivision, police say.
The girl told a counselor that she met the suspect, who was driving a white police-type vehicle with radios in it.
After the girl detailed the incident to Detective Ed Lunsford, deputies identified the vehicle the girl described as the response vehicle for the Chancellor Volunteer Fire Department.
Baber was picked up, arrested, and charged with statutory rape and soliciting over the internet. He is being held without bond at the regional jail.
On Thursday, we told you about the fight between firefighters from the Sea Bright Fire Department in New Jersey that occurred inside the firehouse last October 9 that has now gone to trial. The battle pitted two brother firefighters, Peter and Steven Lang, against another firefighter, Justin Hughes. It happened after the wetdown celebration and water fight pictured in the video above.
At Thursday's hearing, a different video was featured. It reportedly shows the firefighters going at it. It comes from a department surveillance camera mounted inside the firehouse bar.
According to an article by Dustin Racioppa at redbankgreen.com, the video first shows Steven Lang and Hughes getting into a shoving match at the bar at 8:41 PM. But municipal prosecutor Mike Halfacre said things calmed down when someone else broke up the fight.
Reporter Racioppa says volunteer firefighter Aaron Rock testified that Lang left the building after telling Hughes that they should go outside and handle this. Here's more from Racioppa's article:
That’s when Lang’s brother, Peter, 33, approached Hughes and said something to the effect of, “If you have a problem with my brother, you have a problem with me,” Rock told the court.
“At that point he lunged at Justin,” said Rock, who is also a patrolman in Monmouth Beach police.
Which is what the video showed. Steven Lang had by then — at 8:43 p.m. — re-entered the bar and joined in what Halfacre called a “scrum” in a corner of the lounge, and “Steven Lang came into view and the two Lang brothers essentially have Hughes surrounded.”
Steven Lang then put Hughes in a headlock, which is when Rock tried to break up the fight. Another firefighter, Patrick “P.J.” Covert, broke Steven Lang away from Hughes, and almost simultaneously Peter Lang took Hughes down to the ground, and said, “Did you have enough or do you want me to choke you out?” Covert said.
Hughes went for medical help that night. According to the article, the injuries have kept Hughes from firefighting since that night. A report filed with police the next day resulted in the simple assault charges against the Lang brothers that brought this trial. Steven Lang then filed harassment and disorderly conduct charges against Hughes.
The trial has been continued until June 16. Fire department promotions for both of the Lang brothers have been held up because of the court case.This leaves the ranks of assistant chief and second lieutenant unfilled in the Sea Bright Fire Department.
To me, it is typical of SOME of the interactions that occur across the country between the news media and public safety officials. It's an interesting follow-up to my posting last week that looked at the confrontation last December between a Connecticut State trooper and a photographer at the scene of a fatal crash and vehicle fire.
I am very aware we only have one side of this story and we should always be cautious when drawing conclusions. But there are a few things that are clearly said by the sheriff's deputies, including supervisors, that don't need much interpretation and, to my knowledge, go beyond the powers this country gives to law enforcement. These include: ordering a photographer not to take pictures from a certain vantage point because the homeowners don't want their houses shot; deciding when a videographer can and can't roll his camera; telling a photographer he can't take pictures of police officers doing their jobs.
While, in general, I have absolute respect for the job police officers and others in public safety do, I admit my bias in these issues. As a news reporter I was told by many people, including law enforcement, that I couldn't take pictures of something that was in public view while standing in a public place. My bias is that I am very much pro-First Amendment and know that, in the United States, decisions like those aren't to be left in the hands of police officers, firefighters or any other government official. But there are many other countries where people in uniform do make those choices for you.
That said, when asked to make sure that the images of witnesses or undercover officers whose safety may be in jeopardy not be shown, I always cooperated by shooting or editing around those images. Also, when given a legitimate explanation by law enforcement that a case would be jeopardized by information or images being released, my bosses and I cooperated. I saw similar cooperation by the other TV stations in Washington.
But orders to shut off our cameras in a public place were almost always ignored. Often we did that for our own protection. In one case the video evidence showed a police officer was not telling the truth when my colleague, photographer Frank McDermott, was arrested at the scene of a drowning at a Virginia hotel many years ago. When the officer's supervisors saw the video (it was still rolling when the police officer placed the camera in the trunk of the police car following Frank's arrest), the charges were suddenly dropped and the officer found himself in quite a bit of trouble.
Let me close with some interesting words a Statter911.com reader wrote in a comment a few days back about the Connecticut video from December:
I don't like the media, but will defend it just as I will the 2nd Amendment. I still think the trooper was flat out wrong, as were the comments that attempted to justify his actions.
There's a reason the first amendment is first and is followed by the second. If gov't attempts to eliminate the freedom of speech, press, to gather, etc, then we have to fall back on our second amendment rights.
Woonsocket Fire Department in action at a six-alarm mill fire in February. Video from ProvidenceFireVideos.com.
It is interesting how two different news stories that came across my computer screen today show opposite conclusions on the same issue. One story is about the ruling of a judge in Rhode Island who found no connection between the safety of firefighters and the browning out of Woonsocket Fire Department's Ladder 1. The other is a study by the University of Georgia that discovered under-resourcing is among the four major causes of firefighter fatalities.
Superior Court Judge Bennett R. Gallo ruled that there was no public safety risk to firefighters or residents in Woonsocket as a result of the removal of Ladder Truck 1 and the reduction of the minimum amount of firefighters on duty from 26 to 23 on Wednesday afternoon.
"On the evidence presented,” said Gallo, “I’m unable to discern any measurable decrease in the firefighting capabilities of the Woonsocket Fire Department or any increase risk to the firefighters of Woonsocket or to the public regarding,” the removal of Ladder 1 and the reduction in manpower.
Daniel Kinder, the primary lawyer for the city, stated in his closing remarks that the experience of the past three months proved that safety was not a concern. He said that since the policy to remove Ladder 1 from service whenever less than 26 firefighters reported for duty was implemented on January 30, there has been no firefighter injuries, no change in firefighter response times, no harm to the public and no harm to any mutual aid firefighter.
In Georgia, what is being called a comprehensive UGA study, has revealed patterns in firefighter fatalities. According to a press release from UGA, "Researchers in the UGA College of Public Health found that cultural factors in the work environment that promote getting the job done as quickly as possible with whatever resources available lead to an increase in line-of-duty firefighter fatalities."
The four major causes identified in the study are "under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of incident command procedures and sub-optimal personnel readiness."
Here is what the release said about under-resourcing:
Many of the recommendations can be traced to a lack of finances, said (co-author David) DeJoy. Not only does under-resourcing affect the ability of a fire department to acquire innovative technology, it can lead to a shortage of personnel at a fire, compromising rapid intervention and the ability to maintain command and control functions during operations, he said.
The study is published in the May edition of of the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. It examined data gathered from 189 NIOSH firefighter fatality investigations for five years beginning in 2004.
So who are you going to believe, the judge or the professor?
"We issue a sincere and deep apology to Firefighter [Robert] Keiley and this ad will not run again." The New York Post reports those are the words of John Barker, president of the Barker/DZP ad agency. It is a reversal for the agency that originally stood on the ground that a standard modeling waiver signed by Keiley allowed the agency to use his image as it saw fit. (Keep reading for my views on how a firm in the business of influencing the public could be so tone deaf in figuring out how to handle something like this.)
Here are more in excerpts from the latest New York Post article by Jamie Schram:
The Post reported today that Keiley — who joined New York's Bravest only in 2004 — was working as a model when he posed for what he thought would be used for a run-of-the-mill fire-prevention ad.
He appeared in generic firefighter gear and gripped a helmet for the shot — not the photo of the destroyed Twin Towers that was "put" into his hands with Photoshop software for the Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern ad.
"It's an insult to the Fire Department. It's an insult to all the families who lost people that day," said Keiley, 34, an ex-cop who now works out of an engine company in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Keily had threatened to sue.
I find it fascinating that even people in the image business couldn't effectively deal with this bad news right from the start. While it is possible they may have been legally and technically correct, they weren't going to win the hearts and minds of the public with the agency's initial statement about Firefighter Keiley signing the release. With the emotions that surround 9-11 I doubt that this ad was wise even if it wasn't a real firefighter as the model.
This is a reason why it is good for the deciders (thank you George W. Bush), including fire chiefs, to have people who will provide an honest view of how actions and decisions look to those on the outside. While I saw it as inevitable this ad would be pulled as soon as I read the first paragraph, people who had a stake in producing it might have been too invested in their work to see how this was playing.
Interestingly, the ad agency has figured out the ad must go, but Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern are still in the defend at all cost mode. From the New York Post:
But law firm senior partner Marc Bern insisted it did nothing wrong.
"It was all appropriate, due to the release signed by [Keiley]," he said. "We are trying to help the victims of 9/11."
Below is the complete statement released yesterday from the ad agency, Barker/DZP.
Our agency sincerely apologies for any pain caused by this ad, featured in today’s New York Post.
When creating the ad, we purchased stock photography of an actor dressed as a firefighter, and we obtained all required model releases and real property owner releases, specifically including use for any purpose (such as advertising) as well all rights regarding the manipulation and/or alteration of the image. This is standard procedure for advertising agencies. At no time did we have any idea—or could we have had any knowledge–that the person in the photo, Robert Keiley, was an actual firefighter, much less a New York City firefighter. This unfortunate coincidence makes the ad into something we never intended it to be.
The intent of the ad is very positive: making the heroes of 9/11 aware that funds are now available to help them through the Zadroga Act. It was never our intention to offend anyone with this effort, quite the opposite in fact.
We hold all firefighters in the highest regard, and believe all New York City firefighters are heroes. While our mistake was entirely inadvertent, we understand why the ad has caused hurt, we regret its use, and we accept responsibility. Our client was uninvolved in the selection of this photo and had no knowledge of any of these details. Out of respect for all parties involved, Barker/DZP has voluntarily withdrawn from this assignment.
We sincerely apologize to Firefighter Keiley, as well as the New York City Fire Department, and the brave firefighters who fearlessly served their city and gave their lives on 9/11.
John Barker
President
Barker/DZP
New York, NY
March 28, 2011
Richard Fiorito, a driver for Holley Volunteer Ambulance, has been charged with endangering his own children, a four-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy. According to WHEC-TV, Fiorito left them home alone while he answered an emergency call Friday night. The TV station says Chief William Murphy of the Holley Police Department and Fiorito both confirm that it was Fiorito's ex, the mother of the children who turned him in. Here's more:
Fiorito says she heard his voice on the radio Friday night (she's with the Holley Fire Department) and got suspicious. Fiorito says she called his mother to see if she was looking after the children (which she wasn't). Then he says she came by his apartment and found no one there. That's when she called 911.
Chief Murphy says Fiorito is sorry for what he's accused of doing (and what he admitted to doing). "He stated that it's the stupidest thing he's ever done and he feels terrible about the whole matter," the chief said.
WHEC-TV also has Fiorito's statement to police, obtained from charging documents:
On Friday March 18 at or about 9:51 p.m. Holley ambulance received a call. At or about 10:05 p.m. I left and went to the ambulance base. My children were in bed sleeping. When I was at the hospital I received a call from (police) asking me who was with my kids. I told him (my friend) was. He asked me why she wouldn't come to the door and I told him she was probably asleep. He told me he would be waiting for me to come home. When I got back to the station I asked (my friend) to go to my house and go in through the back door so she could be seen in the house when I entered with police. I arrived home and let the police in. I know I was wrong and I screwed up. I should not have left my children home alone. I am sorry.
Jessica Tata, a woman wanted after a day care center fire killed four small children, has surrendered.
It’s a day many of the victims’ families had hoped for — a chance to get justice. We first told you about the major development in the case here on abc13.com.
Tata’s brother told Eyewitness News she turned herself in at a consulate in Nigeria. Investigators believed she fled to that country shortly after the fire last month.
Tata is accused of leaving those kids home alone when that fire broke out. While details of her surrender are being kept under wraps, we know that her family may have convinced her to come out of hiding and turn herself in.
After more than 20 days on the run, Tata, one of the U.S. Marshal’s 15 most wanted fugitives, is said to be traveling with Nigerian officials to the capital of Portharcourt, where U.S. authorities will meet her.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has been following the search for her and says Tata’s surrender was voluntary.
“The U.S. embassy in Nigeria is well informed, is in control and in cooperation with the Nigerian government and in cooperation with law enforcement authorities here in the United States,” she said.
Last month the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia announced that four private ambulance companies in the Philly area had been indicted on fraud charges. They are accused of billing Medicare for carrying patients who did not need an ambulance for transport. It turns out, at the same time, WTFX-TV’s Jeff Cole had been investigating the ambulance companies since 2009. The station says the U.S. Attorney requested the TV reports to be put on hold so as not to jeopardize the federal investigation. Part 1 of the stations two-part series has now aired. Click above to watch it.
Gil Taylor, President IAFF Local 1717: “The union believes at this point that Mr. Doherty has been unfairly targeted and that the termination is improper.”
That support comes with a candid acknowledgment about the 17-year department veteran also known for his charitable works.
“He’s recently run a fundraiser to obtain funds to be able to build a ramp for a local handicapped child to gain access to the beach. but he is very vocal. if he doesn’t think something is right, you can’t shut him up. ”
In it (the Facebook postings), he allegedly railed against the police officer over some incident, angrily carried on about being forced to work on the Fourth of July holiday and made a homosexual slur.
Taylor: “He was exercising his First Amendment right to state that he thought he was being treated poorly by these individuals or didn’t like the way they were doing things.”
But town Administrator Thomas Guerino issued a statement Wednesday saying in part — by publicly disparaging and ridiculing the lieutenant and then sergeant (and now police chief), Firefigher Doherty imperiled the link that must bind fire and police personnel. This conduct undermines the ability to serve the public and undercuts public confidence in the town’s ability to provide these services.
You may recall our coverage of the National Labor Relations Board ruling in the dispute between Dawnmarie Souza and her former employee American Medcal Response of Connecticut Inc. That case was settled yesterday, the day before the hearing.
The NLRB ruled that Souza’s firing for a Facebook comment about her supervisor was improper. Her remarks were considered protected speech. The NLRB claimed AMR’s rules were overly broad when it came to the Internet and communications between workers. This is the first case in which the NLRB has made this argument about the web.
AMR has agreed to change those rules.
AMR and Dawnmarie Souza are not commenting, but Souza did post a brief comment to STATter911.com when our original posting ran on November 9:
While I have been advised to avoid interviews, I feel obligated to say something. First of all my page is private and I am a medic, not emt. The story has been greatly altered and I can only say please do not judge me until all the facts are out. Thank you.
Souza, a paramedic for AMR in New Haven, posted the comment on her Facebook page on the same day she was suspended from work after refusing her supervisor Frank Filardo’s request to write up a report on a complaint about her performance. Management rejected her request for union representation.
The company did not respond late Monday to a question about whether Souza will be rehired, and had said in the past that her firing was not for her Facebook post, but for “multiple, serious issues.”
In the three years before her firing Souza had missed a lot of work because of treatments and follow-up surgeries for breast cancer. Her illness was not part of the NLRB’s case.
Legal experts have said the Souza-AMR case would be groundbreaking for unionized workers, but would probably not affect the rights of most nonunion workers, who typically are employed “at will,” meaning they can be fired for any reason as long as it does not illegally target them on the basis of race, age or other protected categories.
Joe Piccinini, the chief of the Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District in Calaveras County, California is under fire following a report that has been released about Piccinini’s handling of his previous job. On July 1, 2009 Piccinini resigned as chief of the Anderson Fire Protection District in Shasta County, a job he took in October, 2007. He had been placed on administrative leave before resigning.
The report, from the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, makes numerous allegations about Chief Piccinini. But no criminal charges are being filed because the statute of limitations to file charges has expired. So far, his bosses in Calaveras County are sticking by him.
In a report released today (Monday), Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Erin Dervin wrote that there was evidence Joe Piccinini had given alcohol to minorsnumerous times, driven drunk in fire department vehicles and had also used them to remodel his home.
Piccinini’s Gold River attorney, Daniel Thompson, said he’s not surprised the charges weren’t filed.
He said the investigation was based on “hearsay and internal witness testimony” amid a “tide of bias or political agenda.”
Both the Shasta County Grand Jury and an investigator the department’s board hired to look into the allegations found that employees had accused Piccinini of watching pornography on his work computers.
He was also accused of getting publicly drunk in uniform, berating and sexually harassing employees, misusing district property, funds and staff for personal gain, purchasing items without authorization and knowingly furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Among the allegations was that Piccinini had forged a first responder certification from his former employer, the Tulsa, Okla., Fire Department to get a job in Anderson.
Tulsa authorities reported that records the department had were in “shambles” or “garbage” or a “mess,” Dervin wrote.
“We certainly couldn’t prove any fraud beyond a reasonable doubt,” Dervin said.
Deputy District Attorney Erin Dervin wrote in the report that numerous witnesses quoted Piccinini as saying to the minors: “If you’re old enough to die for your community, you’re old enough to drink.”
Piccinini did not immediately respond to a phone message left Tuesday afternoon at Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District headquarters.
Central Calaveras district board President Bill Schmiett said he had been aware of the allegations against Piccinini since before his district hired Piccinini.
“When we hired him, he told us all about his travails in Anderson Fire Department,” Schmiett said. “We had him super background investigated.”
By the time the Redding Police Department finished the criminal investigation at the request of Anderson police – to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest – the one-year statute of limitations had expired, according to the report.
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com looks at the lawsuit filed by an insurance company in connection with the January 2009 death of Lt. Kevin Kelley. Lt. Kelley was killed when Boston Fire Department’s Ladder 26 lost its brakes and slammed into a building. The company insures the Mission Hill apartment complex the rig hit. The suit is against the City of Boston and six truck maintenance shops. Lt. Kelley’s family has also filed suit against the same inspection and repair shops. Click here for the coverage from FireTruckBlog.com.
A Daytona Beach, Florida newspaper is reporting that Daytona Beach Fire Department Lt. Kristine Gray has been offered and tentatively accepted a deal that promotes her to the number two spot in the department but requires Gray to stay off of fire department property. Gray would also receive $99,000 a year over the next three years when she will reach retirement age. At retirement she should receive approximately $70,000 a year.
Gray currently makes $68,000 year as a lieutenant. In 2007, Gray became the city’s first female battalion chief but was demoted in 2008. Gray claimed the demotion was because of her gender.
City commissioners agreed to the deal at a Wednesday meeting. Gray signed off on it on Monday but has seven days to back out.
After an October 2008 fire at an art gallery on Segrave Street, top firefighters accused Gray of mishandling leadership on the blaze. After an investigation, she was demoted to lieutenant.
Gray, who’s been a Daytona Beach firefighter since 1994, responded by filing various charges against the city with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as the Florida Human Relations Commission. She has maintained the fire was handled properly.
Now the city and Gray have come up with a settlement agreement that would bar Gray from pursuing her current complaints or other claims against the city in the future. The settlement states “the city denies all of Gray’s allegations in their entirety.” In return, Gray would be put on paid administrative leave for the next three years, earning more than $99,000 annually for the next three years along with full benefits.
The deal would bar Gray from ever stepping foot on Fire Department property, or working for the city again. But the settlement included a letter of recommendation from Fire Chief James Bland. Bland, who was not chief when Gray was demoted, wrote in his letter that she was a “valuable member” of the department, she was leaving “in good standing with the city,” and that she’s “ambitious and highly motivated.” If the deal remains in place, the city will rescind the 2008 demotion and the findings on which it was based. All the paperwork in her personnel files related to the demotion would be marked rescinded.
This is a good reminder for all in public life that what you do on your own time, can and will reflect on your official role. Perception is important.
Mugshot of former Clearwater Chief Jamie Geer.
In this case from Florida, Largo Fire Chief Mike Wallace paid an off-duty visit to someone he worked closely with for five years, former Clearwater Chief Jamie Geer. That visit occurred just before Christmas in the Pinellas County Jail where Geer has spent his days and nights since his December arrest on charges of years-long sexual abuse of a young girl.
For many, reaching out to someone you know who has fallen, is considered the right and moral thing to do. Humane is how Chief Wallace described it to St. Petersburg Times reporter Anne Lindberg. You will get no argument from me. I have known people who I think very highly of who have done the same thing with friends facing similar circumstances. But when you are talking these type of charges, it is understandable that emotions run very high.
When word got out of the chief’s trip to the jail, controversy erupted. Some thought it wasn’t appropriate for Largo’s fire chief to make such a visit. Those complaints filtered back to Chief Wallace. The chief could have easily just ignored it and said it is no one’s business what I do in my private life. But he didn’t.
I don’t know Chief Wallace or Chief Geer or have any inside information, but from my perspective reading a newspaper article, Chief Wallace did a very smart thing. He addressed the issued head on. Here’s what he told reporter Lindberg:
Wallace said he didn’t feel he had to justify his visit, but needed to quell the controversy that had arisen in his department when word of his visit spread. It was important, he said, that people understood what was said and “more importantly, what I didn’t say” during the visit.
Chief Wallace did so in an email to his department. Here it is:
“Although I do not need to explain my reasons to anyone but my own conscience, I am aware that there has been negative reaction to my decision.
Largo Chief Mike Wallace from department website.
“I did not go to see Jamie Geer because I approved of his actions. I think everyone and anyone who knows me understands my personal integrity. However this is an individual who I have spent five years working side by side both for and against the same issues.
“It was important to ME that after 72 hours in solitary confinement, without any contact and unsure of what he was facing that he knew he was not all alone. I did not discuss the reason he was there nor did I offer any words of consolation. I told him he should not expect visitors from his department, and no other fire chiefs were going to visit him. I did not offer him assistance and did not provide him with any comforting words.
“From the perspective of a human being he deserved that much. I am sure that each of you are eager to judge what should happen to him. I have my own feelings about what is deserved. That does not negate the moral and ethical responsibilities we have to other human beings. We are not him. We are better.”
A local firefighter has been arrested and charged with a scam that involved CPR training.
WTOP was first to report that D.C. firefighter Natalie Overton Williams has been on paid administrative leave for more than two years while being investigated.
On Wednesday, Williams was arrested and charged with first degree felony fraud.
Williams will make her first court appearance on Thursday.
Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, confirms Williams turned herself in to authorities on Wednesday.
Documents obtained by WTOP show Williams was being investigated for using D.C. Fire Department letterhead to invoice companies for CPR training.
The maximum penalty for felony fraud is 10 years in prison and/or a fine of $5,000 or three times the value of the property obtained, whichever is greater.
Clearwater’s fire chief has been fired after his arrest on capital sexual battery charges.
Jamie Geer, 56, was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Monday after a four-month investigation into allegations of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age. The crime is a capital felony and, if convicted, Geer could earn life in prison.
The FDLE began investigating Geer, who lives in Dunedin, in August after receiving an anonymous tip that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
Investigators say they learned Geer had numerous sexual encounters with the female victim – now 17 years old – over the past nine years.
He currently faces one count of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age and was booked into the Pinellas County Jail. Bond was set at $500,000.
FDLE won’t identify the victim but continues to investigate Geer to see if he had inappropriate relationships with any other minors.
Geer is recently divorced and had two stepchildren.
Shortly after Geer’s arrest, the City of Clearwater terminated his position as the city’s fire chief. Geer has been with the Clearwater Fire Department since August 2004 and came to the department from Tennessee.
“This has nothing to do with the City of Clearwater,” said Jim Madden, Special Agent in Charge of FDLE’s Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center. “It just so happened (Clearwater) is where he worked.”
Deputy Chief Robert Weiss was announced as the interim fire chief.
Geer was hired as fire chief on Aug. 23, 2004. He joined Clearwater Fire & Rescue in the wake of criticism about the department’s handling of a June 2002 blaze at the Dolphin Cove Condominium that killed two people and injured seven others, including three firefighters.
Former Chief Rowland Herald resigned in 2004 after 25 years with the department. A report released months earlier criticized the department’s handling of the Dolphin Cove fire, faulting firefighters for using only one radio channel, which mangled communications, and also blamed a resident for not calling 911 earlier.
According to a message Geer posted on the department’s website, “Leadership skills and experience don’t mean anything if your team members won’t line up behind you and say, ‘OK, let’s go.’ For me, that’s priority number one. What I enjoy most is the sense of pride when people belong to a fire service organization where employees are happy to come to work and perform their best.”
On an August day in 2007, Sgt. Ken Kolich, a detective with the prosecutors office in Hudson County, New Jersey, knew something wasn’t right when he started getting calls from police officers asking if it was true Dr. Joseph Colao was dead. Kolich wasn’t assigned a murder case. Just a routine death investigation.
That was the first hint to Sgt. Kolich that Dr. Colao’s life and medical practice were anything but routine. But there were many more hints to come. Now there is a lengthy and detailed article by Amy Brittain & Mark Mueller in The Star Ledger describing how Dr. Colao turned his practice into a drug mill that provided anabolic steroids and HGH to cops, firefighters and others. It is the first of three parts.
Today’s article looks at how Colao pulled this off in connection with a Brooklyn pharmacy. It discusses the impact on the health of the cops and firefighters, five deaths that have a connection to Colao’s practice, a possible link to violent episodes on and off duty, and the difficulty officials have had in dealing with the problem. Tomorrow the paper indicates it will report on how a “ex-Harrison firefighter on disability works full-time for N.C. fire department”.
Any attempt to summarize this well researched article doesn’t do it justice. It’s worth reading. Here are a few excerpts including an interview with a retired firefighter who has a different view of Dr. Colao:
A seven-month Star-Ledger investigation drawing on prescription records, court documents and detailed interviews with the physician’s employees shows Colao ran a thriving illegal drug enterprise that supplied anabolic steroids and human growth hormone to hundreds of law enforcement officers and firefighters throughout New Jersey.
In just over a year, records show, at least 248 officers and firefighters from 53 agencies used Colao’s fraudulent practice to obtain muscle-building drugs, some of which have been linked to increased aggression, confusion and reckless behavior.
In most cases, if not all, they used their government health plans to pay for the substances. Evidence gathered by The Star-Ledger suggests the total cost to taxpayers reaches into the millions of dollars.
From the squad rooms and firehouses of Hudson County, word of Colao’s reputation radiated out, town by town, county by county.
It was around 2005 when the first law enforcement officers and firefighters came to Colao for steroids, employees and patients said. Each month brought new faces from new departments. By early 2007, the office had become “a hangout for cops and firefighters,”(Former Colao employee Gladys) Nieves said.
Former Jersey City firefighter Harold Motley had a higher opinion of Colao, calling him a “good guy” who seemed interested in helping him achieve his goal of losing weight.
Motley, who retired earlier this year at age 50, said Colao told him to eliminate pasta and cheese from his diet, then explained how certain medications could change his life.
“He said he was going to give me some stuff to make me feel 18 again,” Motley said. “I took it, of course. He’s a doctor. I’m not going to say no.”
The retired firefighter said Colao gave him prescriptions for AndroGel, a testosterone cream, and Norditropin, a brand of growth hormone. Motley said he had no idea Norditropin was a form of HGH, adding he also didn’t realize it was so expensive, at about $1,100 per month. Motley’s city insurance plan covered the cost.
Today, Motley said he believes Colao did nothing inappropriate, saying the physician enjoyed a stellar reputation among men in uniform because he could help them feel better, get stronger and improve their sex lives.
“In the world of police and firemen, he died a hero,” Motley said.
The Star-Ledger reports 206 New Jersey law enforcement officers and 42 firefighters received anabolic steroids or other testosterone-boosting hormones from Dr. Colao. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers from the fire side
Bayonne Fire Department 2
Edison Fire Department 1
Harrison Township Fire Department 4
Hoboken Fire Department 2
Jersey City Fire Department 27
Newark Fire Department 2
North Hudson Fire Department 3
Paterson Fire Department 1
Mayor Rick Gray from Lancaster, Pennsylvania says he is having the city prepare a lawsuit against IAFF Local 319 over what he says is harassment by union members against volunteer firefighters with companies that respond mutual aid into the city. Gray is also threatening disciplinary action. The mayor believes undermining mutual aid agreements impacts the safety of the citizens.
The chief of Manheim Township Fire Department says two of his volunteer, who are also career firefighters (we are told not in the City of Lancaster), have taken an indefinite leave of absence. Chief Rick Kane says he has suspended a mutual aid agreement with Lancaster because of the problem.
Plum Street fire photo by Glenn Usdin.
According to LancasterOnline.com the current and future union president say they are unaware of any harassment and point out they also did not know of any mutual aid agreements. Gray says those agreements aren’t in writing, but are verbal. Battalion Chief Ken Barton, president until the first of the year, believes the city is violating a 1997 arbitration ruling that says they can’t use volunteers unless they first call in off-duty firefighters.
Apparently what has brought this to a head is the breakdown of the city’s two ladder trucks with no replacements in sight. The truck work is now being handled by mutual aid companies.
FireTruckBlog.com’s Glenn Usdin, in looking at the dispute, the economic realities and the equipment issues brings up the point that it is important to have a “Plan B in place for emergency replacement of necessary apparatus”. Click here for Glenn’s commentary.
When fire raged in the first block of North Plum Street early Monday morning, four city firefighters were there in less than a minute.
The house was right behind the city’s fire Station 3. But after the first dozen on-duty city firefighters were at the scene, the next to arrive were firefighters from surrounding municipalities.
One woman died and two children were critically injured, but without the aid of firefighters from Lancaster Township, Lafayette and Millersville fire companies, the situation could have been worse, said city fire Chief Tim Gregg.
Without their help, the flames might have spread down the row of narrow homes, he said.
Which is why Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray was angry Tuesday at what he believes are efforts by some city firefighters to undermine mutual aid agreements between the city and surrounding municipalities.
Gray said some city firefighters have harassed volunteers who have come into the city.
Barton said he believes the city is overusing the volunteers to supplement the paid fire bureau.
“We’re being cut more and more and more, and they want to rely on somebody else come in and save our butt,” he said.
Kane said he believes the volunteers are caught in the middle of a labor dispute between the city administration and the union.
Baltimore County two-alarm apartment fire: Michael “FirePix1075″ Schwartzberg sent me this yesterday but it was so busy I never got around to posting it. This is from a fire at 5:00 Monday morning at 16 Warren Lodge Court in Cockeysville. Michael’s still pictures and account of the fire can be found here.
Fireground audio from Baltimore fifth alarm: Operations Chief Donald Heinbuch was first on the scene and asked for the box to be struck in the 400 block of East Baltimore Street yesterday. Thanks to AlertPage.net we posted the first 90-minutes of the fireground audio late last night. Click here to listen in.
Lots of videos from the fire on “The Block”: Sitting home sick yesterday with laryngitis, I stayed off the phone and went a little crazy posting a lot of videos from the fire that not only damaged Baltimore’s adult entertainment district, but seriously threatened Baltimore City Fire Department Headquarters. Click here for that coverage.
Fire apparatus on the fifth-alarm: Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has a series of photos from Stanley Jaworski focusing on the rigs surrounding “The Block”. Check them out.
Naked women & fire trucks. That’s how it all started for Dave: In case you missed it, the quote of the day on the Baltimore fireground came courtesy of veteran Baltimore TV reporter Jayne Miller. It came from a worker on ”The Block” – “We had to run to the back and grab anything we could and run out buck naked”. You can now watch that live TV interview for yourself. Click here.
Listening to the report and watching the coverage yesterday brought back fond memories of spending time in one of those buildings that burned. But it is not exactly what you think. At 16, when I was first driving, I would hang out in the 400 block of East Baltimore Street. In what is now a scorched Crazy Johns sub shop and used to be Polock Johnny’s (a much classier Polish sausage joint, I can assure you). I would play pinball with my friends Lee Caplan or Jeffrey Silberschlag and wait to hear the sirens from around the corner at Engine 32 and Truck 1 on South Gay Street. We would then hop in the car and turn the scanner on to find out where they went. And no, we were not completely oblivious to the other sights all around us. It was quite a place.
Also from Baltimore, lawsuit thrown out in recruit’s training death: A judge put a stop to the $15 million dollar federal lawsuit filed by the family of Racheal Wilson, who was killed in a live training fire in a Baltimore rowhouse in 2007. Read the details.
And at the other end of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway there is a new fire chief: The B-W Parkway actually terminates in Prince George’s County, Maryland where Marc Bashoor is the new acting fire chief. Brought back to the department from a retirement gig as the emergency management guy in Mineral, West Virginia, Chief Bashoor is already busy with station visits and meetings. He also has a message out to the troops. Click here for our coverage.
Investigator says chief and supervisors are also to blame for Spalding County, Georgia cell phone incident: The man whose investigation into the video taken of a dead woman at a crash scene brought the firing of a firefighter says there should be more people going out the door. Check out these excerpts from AJC.com:
Attorney Christopher Balch said interim fire chief Kenny West’s lax supervision fostered “an atmosphere where Reid’s conduct seemed acceptable. His failures in leadership development, training and communication cannot be overstated.”
“There is little or no accountability in this department,” Balch said. “Instead, it seems that employees and supervisors are trying to protect themselves and avoid the next disciplinary write-up.”
Assault on the firehouse: Serious stuff in Paris, France where three armed men burst into a fire station, ransacked the place and roughed up a firefighter. Firegeezer has this story.
How to stretch a bad news story into multiple days of news coverage: You may recall that yesterday I pointed out the foolishness of the Carmel, Indiana government for telling reporters that a group of firefighters had been disciplined, but not saying what they were punished for. Instead of getting the bad news over with, Carmel has now had to come clean about the transgressions. And they get another day of publicity out of the story for their efforts. In the end, it doesn’t even seem all that interesting. Judge for yourself.
Dog saved. Firefighter wet and cold: Firefighter Close Calls has the story of an Orland, Indiana firefighter who fell through the ice while trying to rescue a dog.
Man bites man: A Charlotte, North Carolina firefighter on an abdominal pains call was bitten by a man in the apartment of the woman they were treating. I am not really sure why. Here’s the story.
I wrote in the name of IronFiremen.com’s Captain Willie Wines: This year’s Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year honor goes to Florida firefighter Brian Sheets. I know we have all been on the edge of our seats over this. Click here for the details. Better luck next year Willie.
Grant Mishoe at SConFire.com is the first with new developments in the weekend crash that took the life of Firefighter Chance Zobel in Columbia, South Carolina and critically injured Firefighter Larry Irving.
According to The State, 34-year-old Neida Ortega, charged with causing the collision on I-20, is in the United States illegally and is now facing deportation proceedings. The firefighters were putting out a brush fire along the highway.
“She acknowledged that she was not in this country legally,” said S.C. Highway Patrol Col. Kenny Lancaster. “Federal officers from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) went to her house before she left for work,” he said.She did have a license, but it was from Mexico, said Lancaster. “She said she had lived here 10 years.”
Keep checking SConFire.com for the latest developments and details on the funeral for Chance Zobel.
Golf course fire in Quebec: This fire was on October 23.
Fire department connection surfaces in FBI probe of Prince George’s County: The name of a former top official of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has made the news following yesterday’s arrests of three PGPD officers and others. The Washington Post reports that a liquor store the FBI has moved to confiscate is partially owned by former PGFD Lt. Col. Karl Granzow Jr. In September of 2008 STATter911.com and WUSA9.com reported the FBI searched Granzow’s home and his office in the fire department’s headquarters building in Largo. Granzow and others who were targeted in the 2008 raids have not been charged with any crimes. Federal law enforcement officials say that yesterday’s arrests are connected to the charges brought Friday against Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie. Read and watch the 2008 story and the latest on the investigation.
Must see video from the deadly fire in Shanghai: It is hard not to feel the tension as a man slides across a ground ladder used to bridge the gap between burning scaffolding and a tower ladder to narrowly escape the fire in China yesterday that raced through a 28-story building. Scores are dead and injured. Click here for the video. There is more from Firegeezer on the updated death toll and arrests.
Paramedics say they are whistleblowers: Two paramedics in Detroit say they are being disciplined after making comments to a TV crew that rode around with them. The pair testified before the Detroit City Council last night. Watch their story.
Arrangements for Firefighter Chance Zobel: SConFire.com has the details on the funeral for Columbia Fire Department’s Chance Zobel who was killed over the weekend after being struck by a vehicle while fighting a brush fire. The driver charged with striking Zobel and Firefighter Larry Irving does not have a valid U.S. driver’s permit. Read more.
An interesting argument: Should an FDNY lieutenant, forced to retire after many days on the pile following the 9-11 attacks, be an active volunteer firefighter on Long Island? The New York Daily News and John Brown’s former volunteer chief don’t think so. But Brown makes the case that the doctors for the New Hyde Park Fire Department have cleared him for duty while the FDNY docs thought differently and forced him out. Click here for the story.
Indictments in Massachusetts EMS re-certification scam: Five people, including a Boston firefighter, have been indicted in connection with the EMS recertification scandal that has touched a number of jurisdictions in Massachusetts. Click here for the latest.
Closing arguments in case of man charged with Bret Tarver’s death: A verdict is expected this week in the trial of the man accused of setting the supermarket fire in 2001 that killed the Phoenix firefighter. Read more.
Principal refuses to let ambulance drive onto field to get to football player with a concussion: After first denying it happened, a school official confirms a principal blew the call when she failed to let an AMR ambulance drive up to an injured football player. A San Jose Fire Department report details confirmed the information. Instead, the crew had to wheel the gurney three-quarters of the length of a football field to get to the 14-year-old patient and travel the same distance back to the unit. Here’s the story.
Frederick County, Virginia chief makes his exit: Firegeezer has an update on the story of Tim Welsh who is leaving after a drunk driving arrest. Click here.
The big tuna: Read the story and see the picture of a retired federal firefighter from San Diego and a 345.2-pound yellowfin that he caught.
The story above is about the search warrants the FBI served in Prince George’s County on September 13, 2008. Government offices and the homes of some politically connected residents were searched. So far only one name from that story has officially surfaced in the most recent raids by the FBI on Friday and Monday. The Washington Post reports the FBI wants to seize a liquor store partially owned by former PGFD Lt. Colonel Karl Granzow Jr. Granzow or any of the others mentioned in the 2008 story have not been charged with any crimes in connection with these investigations.
Since the news broke of the arrest of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie on Friday we have been linking to a story that STATter911.com first reported in September of 2008. The story covers an earlier FBI raid on Prince George’s County offices in connection with a probe of deals developers made with county officials. The office and home of Karl Granzow Jr. were among the places searched by agents on Saturday, September 13.
Former Lt. Col. Karl Granzow Jr. in a PGFD photo.
Now, after yesterday’s arrests of three Prince George’s County police officers and six others on extortion, cocaine and gun charges, along with the illegal sale of alcohol and cigarettes, Granzow’s name has again surfaced. From WashingtonPost.com Monday evening:
Among the properties that authorities have moved to confiscate, in addition to Tick Tock, are what appear to be several liquor stores in the county, including Shop Rite Liquors in Takoma Park. Public records indicate that Shop Rite is partly owned by Karl Granzow, a former deputy fire chief in Prince George’s.
Granzow’s home was searched in 2008 in the probe of development deals. At the time, Granzow declined to comment. As for the liquor store, Granzow’s attorney, Timothy Maloney, said Granzow has a 25 percent stake in the business but is not involved in its daily operation. He said he does not think investigators are interested in his client.
Federal law enforcement officials have told reporters the arrests of the Johnsons and the arrests of the police officers and others are all connected, but aren’t providing details.
Here is some of what STATter911.com and WUSA9.com reported on September 14, 2008 about the search warrant served at PGFD’s headquarters:
Numerous sources familiar with the actions on Saturday tell STATter 911 the search warrant served at fire department headquarters was specifically for the fourth floor office occupied by Col. Granzow. Granzow’s Bowie home was also entered by a team of agents.Granzow runs the department’s management services command, which includes fiscal affairs, fleet management, human resources, information technologies and occupational safety and health.
According to the sources, agents also gathered evidence from computers inside the Office of Information Technology in the same building at 9201 Basil Court in Largo. The office operates computer systems for county government.
Karl Granzow, reached by phone, referred all comments to the public information officer for the department. Chief Spokesman Mark Brady tells STATter 911 he is unable to comment on the developments.
Sources familiar with the search warrants tell STATter 911 the information being gathered by agents is connected to lobbying, campaign finance and building construction projects. STATter 911 has no information to indicate criminal charges have been filed against any individuals mentioned in this story. Grand jury subpoenas have also been issued in the investigation.
The Post reports, and other sources confirm, a large development near the Greenbelt Metro station is part of the investigation. The project is called Greenbelt Station and is located on the old A.H. Smith Jr. property, a sand and gravel operation. The land is just inside the Capital Beltway, east of the CSX railroad tracks and north of Greenbelt Road.
Sources say there had previously been concern within county government about Karl Granzow’s ownership of a small percentage of a firm connected to the development of the property. According to the sources, Granzow had properly disclosed his interest and his involvement was approved by ethics officials in the county.
One part of the development was to include a new fire station.
We should point out again that there is no indication that Karl Granzow Jr. or any of the others who were targeted in the 2008 raids have been charged with any crimes in connection with these investigations.
The local news media is covering more problems for the Prince George’s County, Maryland government this morning. The FBI has picked up three police officers on drug and extortion charges. The Washington Post identified the three cops as Sgt. Rich Delabrer, Cpl. Chong Kim and Officer Sinisa Simic. The arrests also include the owners of local businesses.
News organizations, including The Washington Post, are reporting a connection to Friday’s arrests of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie, but don’t have details on the link (latest from the Post at 12:51 PM). Here’s what’s known so far.
In two indictments unsealed Monday, a federal grand jury indicted three Prince George’s County Police officers, and six others, officials said in a news release. Prince George’s County police confirmed the three officers, two from Beltsville, were were picked up by federal agents Monday.
The two indictments, released Monday morning, include drug trafficking and firearms violations; forfeiture sought for $3.5 million, 25 properties, 13 vehicles and 84 bank accounts.
The charges are conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
There is no mention of County Executive Jack B. Johnson, and the charges may stem from the larger probe of corruption in Prince George’s County.
The charges stem from a scheme involving the transport and distribution of untaxed cigarettes and alcohol.
Earlier WUSA9.com and the Post reported a connection to Friday’s arrests. Here’s what the Post wrote on its blog:
Sources say the arrests are related to Friday’s arrest of Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife who each has been charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence.
From the AP:
FBI spokesman Richard Wolf described the arrests as part of an ongoing investigation in the county. He declined to confirm whether the arrests are related to last week’s arrest of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson, who has been charged with witness and evidence tampering in a federal investigation of bribery involving a developer.
Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a federal indictment.
Jack and Leslie Johnson face tampering with witness charges; and destruction, falsification and altering of documents charges.
In an affidavit released Friday afternoon, F.B.I. agents described how they tapped the Johnsons’ phone right before the raid was about to take place at just after 10:00 a.m.
“Tear up the check,” the document stated, referring to Jack Johnson’s demands to his wife, while federal agents were at the door of their Mitchellville, Md. home.
The check Johnson was telling his wife to tear up was a $100,000 bribe from developers, according to federal documents.
When police arrested Leslie Johnson, they found a $79,600 check in her underwear, according to the sworn federal affidavit.
The F.B.I. agents also claim Johnson received $5,000 on November 5th, from developers to use his influence to get them bids in projects, according to the document. The documents state Johnson received $15,000 more Friday morning in the first leg of the raid.
While federal agents were ransacking Johnson’s offices, Jack Johnson called his wife and told her to tear up the check in the underwear draw in their room, federal agents said in the sworn statement. She tore up the check and flushed it.
“Do you want me to put it down the toilet?,” Leslie Johnson asked, according to the affidavit. Then agents heard the sound of a toilet flush over the wire-tap.
They each face 20 years if convicted of all charges, and three years of supervised release. They are also facing fines of, no more than, $250,000.
In court Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Crowell told the judge: “This is a very very long investigation involving voluminous wiretaps and numerous cooperating witnesses.” The case is likely to expand, he added.
Since taking office in 2002, Johnson has been linked to investigations by various authorities, including a pay-to-play accusation involving a county contract to lease office space and a broad FBI investigation involving a massive development project near the Greenbelt Metro station that Johnson had strongly backed.
Both investigations have involved a number of Johnson associates either requesting payment or receiving strong government support. A Washington Post investigation of Johnson’s first term in office found that he had given 15 friends and allies 51 county contracts totaling nearly $3.3 million.
In all, Johnson has come under scrutiny for county development deals worth millions of dollars that have gone to people with ties to the county executive. Several of those people had little or no development experience or were given no-bid contracts, according to government records.
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