PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR THE OMAHA, NEBRASKA, Fire Department keep getting setbacks these days. On February 5 STATter911 reported HERE on OFD Local president Darren Bates being arrested on a prostitution sting. The next day Firegeezer reported HERE on Bates’ being removed from office by the IAFF and his precarious position as a member of the Council Bluffs, Iowa, city council.
Darren Bates
Adding a new twist to the drama was the unexpected appearance of federal investigators at the union local’s office this week requesting a look at the local’s records for the past few years. It turns out that before Bates was president of the local, that seat was held by the man who has since become the Fire Chief of the department, Mike McDonnell. Late last year Bates found that two years worth of expense account records from McDonnell’s period in office are missing. Bates sent a letter to the fire chief asking for the records or an accounting of them. This was done without the knowledge of the union’s executive board.
Chief McDonnell
The investigators from the Department of Labor showed up following a complaint they received about “finances” in the local.
OmahaChannel.com has more on this STORY.
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Meanwhile, the Council Bluffs city council are putting pressure on Bates to either resume attending meetings, which he has skipped since his arrest, or else resign from the council. The Omaha World-Herald has more on that HERE.
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