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Promotional Opportunities in Texas

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"Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up …"

THE FIRE CHIEF OF KATY (Texas) FIRE DEPARTMENT Marc Jordan, 58, was indicted yesterday (Tuesday) by a Harris County Grand Jury on felony charges of diversion of a controlled substance and tampering with a government record.

KTRK-TV

This results from an investigation triggered by anonymous tips and conducted by several law enforcement agencis.  Specifically, Jordan is accused of stealing several vials of valium from a department ambulance and injecting them in his cousin's ex-wife to alleviate a severe back pain before her surgery.  In an attempt to cover up the crime, he fabricated a memo describing an accidental destruction of the vials.

KUHF-FM radio reports:

Sara Marie Kinney with the Harris County DA's office says the incident reportedly happened in January.

"We received at the DA's office, and some other law enforcement agencies received anonymous tips from several sources. And the tampering charge comes from his cover-up into how those were taken. It's a very well-documented process for any type of controlled substance to be taken out of an ambulance."

Jordan became the director of Katy's emergency medical services in 2002. He became fire chief in 2005.

When the DEA began looking into the missing drugs, Jordan prepared a bogus memo that read:  "On January 11, 2013, I inadvertently dropped a box of Diazapam(sic). In an effort to catch the box I jammed [it] between my leg and the refrigerator stand breaking the…cartridges. I disposed of the broken cartridges in the sharps container on the lead medic unit."

KTRK-TV filed this video report:

 

Jordan has been suspended and Assistant Chief Warner Preston has been named acting fire chief to fulfill the functions of the office during the interim.

KTRK-TV has the full STORY.
Katy Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on May 22, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Promotional Opportunities – Another Chief and His Honey Get Caught With the Money

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Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up….

NOW-FORMER SMITHERS VFD Fire Chief Timothy Whittington and his wife Patricia Whittington were indicted by a Fayette County, West Virginia, grand jury this week for embezzling "thousands of dollars" from the fire department.

The Gazette-Mail reports:

On Wednesday, former Chief Timothy M. Whittington was indicted on one count of felony embezzlement. His wife, Patricia A. Whittington, was indicted on one count of felony fraudulent schemes.

The indictments followed a yearlong investigation by State Police into who used a government-issued credit card for personal use.

Whittington told other firefighters in the department during the summer of 2011 that he had accidentally paid one of his personal bills using Fire Department funds but had paid the money back. An audit later showed thousands of dollars missing from the department stemming from the credit card.

W. Va. Film Board

WOWK-TV continues:

A grand jury gathered enough evidence to believe that Whittington embezzled money from the department between July 21, 2010 and September 6, 2012, according to a copy of the indictment.

Former chief Timothy Whittington admitted to our cameras last year that he had used fire department funds to pay his personal bills that totaled nearly $4,000.

He said he and his wife plugged the fire department's checking information into their online bill pay and continued to use that account for a period of about three months.

Whittington said it was an honest mistake and that he took out a loan and paid the department back. Officials said Whittington stepped down from his post in January 2013.

Read WOWK-TV's full account of the story HERE.

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Posted by on May 19, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, current events, News • Tagged: , , , ,

Thieves Put Fire Station Out of Service

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Satellite Station Hit

DOUGLAS COUNTY, WISCONSIN, is a sparsely populated rural area on the Minnesota border near Duluth.  The Dairyland Volunteer Fire Department is a small organization with 11 active firefighters that normally responds to about 40 calls a year.

Dairyland VFD Main Station  (GoogleStreetView)

The area they cover is large and, like many rural departments, they keep some equipment stored in an outlier or satellite station.  It was Dairyland's satellite that was hit by thieves last month, taking advantage of the remote location and an April snowstorm to cover their deed when they broke into the station on April 22 between the hours of 11 pm and 1 am the next morning.

The Duluth News Tribune  is reporting yesterday:

The thieves took fire gear, saws, medical supplies, air tanks, a gas detector and more from the fire department’s satellite station at 16567 S. North Road. They also cut radios out of two trucks, putting both vehicles out of commission.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office report, more than $44,000 worth of items was stolen.

"We have enough resources, we have enough mutual aid — that’s not a problem," Dairyland Fire Chief Mike Knutson said. "But it’s the principle: to steal the stuff from the fire department."

Two gloves, a blue baseball cap and some cigarette butts were found at the site after the April 23 burglary. Once the snow melted, deputies were able to get impressions from vehicle tracks outside the building, which appeared to have been made by a shorter SUV like a Blazer or Jeep.

Posted by on May 18, 2013 • Filed under: crime, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, fire stations, News • Tagged: ,

House Ka-Boom Caused by Copper Thief

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Mistook Gas Pipe For Water Pipe

A NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, MAN nearly blew himself up early Monday morning while he was in a vacant house trying to steal the copper piping.

Kevin Livramento, 46, lives directly behind the house that has been vacant since the owner passed away in January, so he knew it was ripe for the pickings.  Livramento was malisciously cutting up the copper pipes in the basement around 3 am when he mistakenly cut into a gas pipe.  The leaking gas soon found its way to the water heater where the pilot light triggered a ka-boom that knocked an exterior wall open and moved the house off its foundations.

NBC 10

The shock wave in the community led some neighbors to spring to their windows to see what was the matter and Livramento was observed pedaling away on a bicycle.  He was easily recognized by his own neighbors and the police had him in custody in short order.

WLNE-TV Ch. 6 filed a good video report from the scene:

 ABC6 – Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

Livramento was suffering from burns to his face and was taken to the hospital for treatment.  He has been charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime into a building, larceny in a building and malicious destruction of property.

The police have already linked him to another similar crime in the area and are questioning him on several other breakins that have been happining in recent months.

SouthCoastToday has the STORY.

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Posted by on May 14, 2013 • Filed under: crime, explosion, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Promotional Opportunities

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"Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up…"

THE FORMER FIRE CHIEF of the Bangor, Alabama, Fire Department was arrested yesterday (Monday) and charged with misusing fire department funds for personal items, including cell phones and plans for family members, computers, printers and other electronics.

photo via Blount County
District Attorney

AL.com reports:

According to a release Monday by Blount County DA Pamela L. Casey, Michael Claude Watson, 45, is charged with two counts of first degree theft of property for of spending fire department money on $3,000 worth of cell phones and service plans and $5,000 of computers, printers and other electronics for personal use.

Watson is also charged with one count of second degree theft for reimbursing himself $1,500 for items that were never purchased.

Watson has a $90,000 bond, and is currently in the Blount County Correctional Facility.

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THREE MONTHS AFTER BEING appointed the town's first female fire chief, the West Gardner, Maine, Selectmen dismissed Vicki Dill from the job saying that she did not meet the jobs requirements as had been agreed upon in February, including learning how to drive and operate a firetruck.

Dill's travails began four years ago in 2009 when she was first elected by the members to become fire chief, but the Board of Selectmen disregarded the election and appointed the 3rd-place candidate to become chief.

Dill later filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission that she had been passed over because she is female.  The Commission found in her favor and ordered the town to appoint her as chief this February.  The town went along with the stipulation that she complete a series of qualifications needed for the job including the driving requirement and becoming knowledgable on how to use fire department equipment.

Vicki Dill / Kennebec Journal

The full set of stipulations were not made public, but she agreed to the terms.  The three months are up and she is still being accused of failing to learn how to use the equipment.

Read the full story in the Kennebec Journal HERE.

Firegeezer comments:  After four years she is still unable to operate the equipment?  I think there is more to this story than is being told.  I won't begin to guess who's right and who's wrong, however.

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Posted by on May 14, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , , ,

Cretin Steals Ambulance With Medic in Back

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Habitual Criminal Quickly Caught

A MEMORIAL HOSPITAL EMS ambulance in Chattanooga, Tennessee, had just off-loaded a patient at Erlanger hospital and the driver moved the unit away from the loading zone to keep it cleared.  He then got into the back of the ambulance and started cleaning up and restocking from the last call.

It was then that a man, apparantly unaware of the medic's presence, hopped into the cab and began driving away.  The Chattanoogan continues the story:

(The medic) yelled for the man to stop, but he just accelerated faster. The victim was yelling at the ambulance-jacker and attempting to call out on his radio reporting the theft.

Although the victim was yelling for the suspect to stop, he refused at which time the victim reached through the window and pulled on the suspect to the point he stopped the ambulance.

The Chattanoogan

The man jumped from the ambulance and ran towards the Whitehall Building. A short time later he was located in a red Ford van parked in the Whitehall garage.

WRCB / Broome

John Edward Shanks, 29, was taken into custody by deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and charged with auto theft over $100,000, kidnapping, reckless endangerment and burglary of an auto.

The police quickly learned that Shanks also had outstanding warrants from two other jurisdictions.

WTVC-TV has the video:

 

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Posted by on May 11, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, News • Tagged: , , , ,

Promotional Opportunities – Another Treasurer Goes Dipping

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"Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up …."

THE NOW-FORMER TREASURER of the Hershey (Pennsylvania) Volunteer Fire Department was arrested today (Friday) and charged with stealing over $128,000 from the department.

Thaddeus Lee Austin, 30, began his life of crime in January 2012 immediately after taking office and continued until March of this year when his activities were exposed.

The Derry Township Police issued the following statement this morning:  On March 6, 2013, a member of the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) contacted the Derry Township Police Department to report a theft of funds from the organization’s financial accounts.

Bank investigators alerted the HVFD President in March that unusual activity with the Fire Department’s accounts was detected. The president then immediately confronted the department treasurer about the activity and also notified police.

A subsequent forensic audit of the accounts revealed that department treasurer THADDEUS LEE AUSTIN, age 30 of Hershey, began extracting funds for personal use shortly after being elected to the treasurer position in January 2012. Evidence suggests that AUSTIN wrote organization checks to himself as well as opened a personal debit card account and also manipulated services for personal benefit from department vendors. It was also determined that AUSTIN satisfied several personal debts and opened new credit accounts for himself during this period.

The loss totals $129,863.67.

The bank reports that written notification of the suspicious activity was previously sent to the fire department prior to March; however, it was determined that AUSTIN received and concealed these notifications from organization leaders.

The Patriot-News adds:

Hershey Volunteer Fire Company President Dave Stough said after Austin was confronted about the allegations he resigned and then the next day was expelled from the fire company.

Stough said the board of supervisors also was notified.

"We would like to ensure the public that we have taken steps to secure our finances, and have implemented, and will continue to implement, more stringent financial controls. In the past, we have been a close-knit organization and extended trust to our officers as our brothers.

"We are fully insured for this loss, and will be working with our carrier to recover the missing sums in the near-term. We thank the community for their continued support or our operations and fund raising efforts."

AUSTIN was arraigned before District Justice Dominic Pelino on May 10th, 2013 having been charged by the Derry Township Police Criminal Investigation Unit with Theft by Deception and Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Funds Received. He was remanded to Dauphin County Prison upon failing to post the $60,000 bail levied on him.

Hershey Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on May 10, 2013 • Filed under: crime, Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice

Another Stolen Firetruck

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Thief Totaled VFD's Tanker

A THIEF BROKE INTO THE Harrison Township VFD station in Ross County, Ohio, early Friday morning and stole the department's 2,200-gal. tanker.  After first knocking into the kitchen wall, he got it going forward and drove about one mile before crashing through a guard rail and rolling the truck over, totalling it.

WBNS-TV

The thief was ejected during the rollover and was seriously injured and remained unconscious through Friday.  The Ross County Sheriff and Ohio Highway Patrol are working to identify the man who was carrying no means of ID.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting:

The Ross County sheriff’s office reported that a surveillance video showed a man breaking a window to enter the fire station and then raising an overhead door and driving away in the fire truck.

Harrison Township Fire Chief Bryon Thornton said the truck is a total loss. "It's in pieces. What used to be a 10-foot-tall truck is four-feet." The 2,200-gallon tanker truck, which is insured, will cost $190,000 to $250,000 to replace, he said.

The thief unsuccessfully tried at first to steal the department's pumper truck, the chief said. The thief also backed the tanker through the kitchen wall before departing the fire station "with it all lit up," Thornton said.

Chillicothe Gazette

Read more details in the Chillicothe Gazette HERE.

Hat tip:  Joe P.

Posted by on May 10, 2013 • Filed under: apparatus, crime, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , , ,

Another Stolen Ambulance

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Located 20 Hours Later

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, POLICE located a stolen ambulance about ten blocks away from the hospital where it was taken while the crew was inside delivering a patient they had brought from Elmore County.

The Haynes Ambulance unit was one of four that were parked in the ambulance bay of the UAB Hospital at 8 pm when somebody, apparently picking at random, hopped in a drove off.

This photo of the stolen unit was posted by Haynes on their Facebook page

The ambulance was found Sunday afternoon about 20 hours after it had been taken.  It isn't yet known if any equipment or supplies have been taken.  Haynes officials are on their way to Birmingham this morning to inventory and check out the unit.

The Gadsden Times has the latest HERE.

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Posted by on April 22, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, EMS Topics • Tagged: , ,

2nd-Bomber Takedown Video

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Massachusetts State Police Video

AFTER ASKING BOSTONIANS TO keep their eyes open and help police find the terrorists who bombed the Marathon, the police suddenly locked down the city and told everyone to staty inside.  After failing to nab the younger Tsarnaev brother after a door-to-door search, the curfew was lifted and everyone allowed back outside.

Within ten minutes David Henneberry went out into his back yard and found the bomber hiding in a boat stored there.

This video which was disseminated to the press by the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing Division, shows through their night-vision camera the approach and removal of the boad cover by a robotic arm.

This is followed by a few views of the concussion grenade discharging in the boat, and then viewing the motionless, injured Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who was then taken into custody.

 

Thanks to Carmine S. and his YouTube site mcfdtv.

Posted by on April 21, 2013 • Filed under: crime, current events, News, Videos

Mother-Of-The-Year Gets Bail Set At $30,000

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"Susan is a great mom" ….. Neighbor.

Examiner / Twitter

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, MOTHER Susan Becker, 43, of East Northport, was arrested Friday and charged with multiple counts of criminal mischief and engangerment of a child following a 2-week spree of driving three teens around in her car while they shot a BB-gun and parked cars.

Police had learned that she had been driving around with her 13-year-old son, her 15-year-old daughter and another 15-year-old boy, encouraging them to shoot out car windows with a BB gun she had bought for them.  They know of at least 60 incidents of damage to parked cars in Hauppauge, Commack, and Islandia over the 2-week period.

WNBC-TV filed this video report:

 

She was arraigned in Suffolk County District Court on Saturday where her bond was set at $30,000.

WCBS-TV has the story and more video HERE.

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Posted by on April 21, 2013 • Filed under: crime, current events, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Promotional Opportunities

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VFD President Goes Dipping

A MOOSIC, PENNSYLVANIA, TOWN COUNCILMAN, business owner, and president of the Greenwood Hose Company was arrested and charged with embezzling $400,000 from the fire company.

WNEP-TV is reporting:

Bill Sweeney was arraigned on charges of theft and forgery for crimes he admits he committed over several years while serving as board president at the Greenwood Hose Company in Moosic.

"This, in all honesty, resulted from a gambling issue. Casinos came into town, property tax relief for a lot of people but a lot of addictions for a lot of people, and this is one of them," said Sweeney’s attorney Bill Peters.

Authorities still don’t know how the missing money went unnoticed for seven years.

Earlier this year, other volunteer firefighters noticed hefty checks written out to Sweeney and to his business Bitty Bill’s ice cream shop on Birney Avenue in Moosic. According to court papers, Sweeney funneled money from the hose company to Bitty Bill’s and even opened up a credit card in the hose company’s name.

An attorney for Greenwood Hose Company said the fire department is audited every few years by the state. But Sweeney’s accused of forging signatures on checks and that may be why the theft wasn’t caught sooner.

The money was taken from the department’s main checking account where donations from the public were deposited.

Even though there are still a lot of questions about why the theft went on for so long, prosecutors say they don’t expect anyone else to be charged.

WNEP-TV also posted this video report:

 

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Posted by on April 20, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , ,

EMS Lieutenant Busted On Drug Theft

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More Missing Fentanyl

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, FIRE DEPARTMENT EMS Lieutenant Timothy Greenlee, 38, was arrested Sunday and charged with official misconduct and theft.

An investigation had begun when it became apparent that some quantities of Fentanyl had come missing from SBFD ambulances.  The South Bend Police Department issued the following press release:

On Saturday, April 13, 2013, investigators from the SBPD were contacted by officials of the South Bend Fire Department (SBFD) to assist with an inquiry concerning missing or mishandled narcotics that were in the possession of the Fire Department. The missing medication, Fentanyl, is usually located on SBFD ambulances for utilization to treat patients that are in their care.

Officials of the SBFD had been looking into this matter and through their own self-initiated investigation, narrowed the inconsistencies concerning the missing Fentanyl to a specific person who is a regularly employed crew member of the SBFD ambulance corps.

After being briefed by administrative officials of the Fire Department concerning the facts that they had uncovered, a SBPD detective questioned and later placed into custody Lieutenant Timothy Greenlee, a Paramedic, age 38 of South Bend as the single suspect in the case of the missing narcotics. Lt. Greenlee was booked into the St. Joseph County Jail under the felony charges of Official Misconduct and Theft.

Yesterday (Monday) he was bonded out and released from custody, but has been placed on administrative leave.  WSBT-TV reported via the South Bend Tribune:

South Bend Fire Chief Steve Cox says department investigators were able to identify a suspect quickly because of systems they have in place to regulate narcotics used for patients.

Cox says Greenlee was placed on administrative leave Sunday.

"This insures that this individual will not be performing patient care or firefighting duties in the public trust," said Cox. "It is incredibly important to the fire department this trust is completely preserved in order for the citizens of South Bend to remain confident in the level of service that is expected of us."

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Posted by on April 16, 2013 • Filed under: crime, EMS Topics • Tagged: , , , ,

Firefighter Jailed Following Armed Robbery Attempt

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Career-Altering Decision Fails

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, FIREFIGHTER Joseph Caimi, 31, is in jail today following a botched armed robbery attempt in a convenience market.

City police said Joseph Caimi, 31, tried to rob a Uni-Mart store on Brownsville Road in Carrick on Wednesday night, but a clerk grabbed Caimi's gun and the firefighter hit his head on a store counter in the ensuing struggle.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells what happened:

(The clerk) behind the counter was Tom Sayenga, who took matters into his own hands.

Police said Mr. Sayenga told them that as he was handing money over to the gunman, he grabbed the man's gun with his free hand and "piledrived" his face into the counter. Mr. Sayenga chambered a round in the gun and pointed the gun at the man and ordered him to leave, according to Pittsburgh robbery squad Detective Michael Chlystek.

Mr. Sayenga said the robbery suspect threw the money in the air and ran out of the store, leaving behind the gun, a 9 mm Beretta.

Later Wednesday, police arrested Joseph J. Caimi Jr., 31, a city firefighter, and charged him in the attempted robbery.

Police determined the gun was registered to Mr. Caimi and went to his house, in the 2200 block of Lucina Street, where they saw a man matching his description sitting with another man next door. Police asked Mr. Caimi if he owned any guns, and he said he used to own three, but sold them all. Asked when he last saw his Beretta, he said: "Today. I already know what you're here for, but I'm not saying anything. I already know why you're here," Detective Chlystek wrote.

Read the entire article HERE.

KDKA-TV filed this video report:

 

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Posted by on April 12, 2013 • Filed under: crime, current events, labor, News • Tagged: , ,

Gunman Holding 4 Firefighters Hostage – Unknown Motive

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Standoff in Gwinnett County, Georgia

UPDATE, 7:45 PM:  Situation is over.  SWAT moved in and killed perp in gunfight.  One officer wounded, appears to be non-life threatening.  ALL FOUR FIREFIGHTERS FREED UNINJURED.

UPDATE, 7:35 PM:  There are indications that the situation may be mitigated.  Several flash-bang type explosions suggest that SWAT made their move.  Man two doors down talking on his phone tells Fox News that suddenly all the police on scene are relaxed and moving easily around the house.  Ambulances on standby, but no medical activity.

AN UNIDENTIFIED MAN IN SUWANNEE, Georgia, took hostage five firefighters who had responded to a subdivision house on a medical call late Wednesday afternoon.

Early reports say that the call was routine and there was no apparent threat to the firefighters until they were inside the home.  Not long after the standoff began, the gunman released one of the firefighters to go outside and move their firetruck.

Fox News

There is no indication so far of anybody being injured.  The house is surrounded by a SWAT squad and a negotiator has already begun making contact with the gunman.

Updates will be posted as warranted.

 

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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The situation began shortly before 4 pm when the fire co. responded to the home.  It has since been suggested that the man has been distraught from financial difficulties.

The news crews on the scene have been asked by the police to not show any visuals, videos or photos from the immediate scene in order to keep the police movements and positioning from being observed by the gunman.

 

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Read the Firegeezer post-incident wrap-up with additional information and video HERE.

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Posted by on April 10, 2013 • Filed under: crime, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, News, Videos

Promotional Opportunities

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"Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up …"

FLAGLER BEACH, FLORIDA, CONTINUES to have fire chief troubles.  Three months ago their fire chief Martin Roberts and three other firefighters were fired for drinking alcohol on the job and, in one known instance, driving a firetruck to an emergency after drinking.  See Firegeezer report from January 10 HERE.

Now Robert's interim replacement, Acting Fire Chief Bobby Pace is in hot water after being accused by the Flagler Beach Police of falsifying time sheets for a prisoner who has been performing community service assignments as part of his sentence.

WJXT-TV is reporting:

According to an affidavit filed by the Flagler Beach Police Department, Pace signed off on Tsabak's five-hour shifts at the department, when in reality he only worked one hour.

Investigators say they were able to prove that from video surveillance in the department, but that video evidence was eventually deleted by Pace in what police say was a cover-up.

During an interview with police, Pace said, "I never flagrantly awarded hours, I only rounded up a bit for good work." Pace said he did not know Tsabak personally, calling the allegations fabricated, according to police.

A lengthy, detailed report in FlagerLive.com tells in part:

(Pace) is facing a felony charge of tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice, according to an affidavit filed by the Flagler Beach Police Department.

The charging papers state, on at least five occasions awarded community service hours to probationer Vitaly Tsabak "that were not earned and were in essence falsely documented."

Patricia Davis, Tsabak’s probation officer, became suspicious when she looked at the hours submitted, because time sheets showed Tsabak logging up to five hours at a time, and doing so late in the evening, even though his job amounted to little more than janitorial duty at the fire department’s station. The station was under video surveillance. The times logged could be checked against the recordings, and were.

Davis, the charging affidavit states, "was able to confirm with Flagler Beach Fire Department staff who viewed the video surveillance of the aforementioned five alleged time periods of service that the hours were false and Tsabak’s Community Control was subsequently violated/revoked." Witnesses at the station told the probation officer that Tsabak only stayed about an hour at a time to do the work. He Tsabak was sentenced to state prison until August 2015.

 

WJXT-TV also posted this video report:

 video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

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IN ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, North Topsail Beach deputy fire chief George Frederick Moore, III, 48, has been charged with embezzling more than $60,000 from the fire department.

The Jacksonville Daily News reports:

was charged Thursday by the N.C. Dept. of Insurance Criminal Investigation with four counts of embezzlement, according to warrants.

Moore is accused of taking $61,150 belonging to North Topsail Beach Volunteer Fire Department and the North Topsail Beach Volunteer Fire Department Local Firefighters Relief Fund, administered by the N.C. State Firemen’s Association and NCDOI, between 2009 and 2012, according to warrants.

Moore served as treasurer and trustee of the North Topsail Beach Volunteer Fire Department Local Firefighters Relief Fund.

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Posted by on April 7, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

ATM Ka-Boom Sends Money Flying, Thieves Running

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Wasn't Such A Good Idea After All

A COUPLE OF THIEF-WANNABE's with dubious logical-thinking skills saw their efforts to steal the inventory of an ATM go flying by.

The nitwits decided to blow up a stand-alone cash dispenser located in a self-serve gas station in Hampshire, England, Sunday morning with the thought in mind of just reaching in and grabbing the stack of cash after the cabinet door was removed.

CCTV tape shows us just how smoothly their operation went (the ATM is the blue and red pylon on the far right):

 

BBC News reported:

A Bristol man was held on suspicion of theft and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property. The 26-year-old is currently in custody.

Witnesses saw people running towards the A303 and Red Post Lane.

Hari Raman, who manages the property, called the thieves "crazy" and said people living nearby were lucky the fuel at the station did not ignite. He said the explosion damaged the structure of the building, and the petrol pumps and canopy would have to be replaced.

Cash and canopy panels are left for the picking.

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Posted by on April 4, 2013 • Filed under: crime, explosion, Job Security • Tagged: , ,

Missing Meds Here and There

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Whatever Happened to "Daily Inventories"?

A VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS in western Pennsylvania, the Norvelt EMS squad recently discovered that their storage room was missing several vials of morphine and fentanyl.  The drugs were packed in individual "kits" that are placed into the ambulances when replenishment is needed and apparently someone had forced open the kits and removed the drugs.  But since the inventory hadn't been checked closely for a while, the theft could have occurred any time since June of last year.

Norvelt EMS squad building.

WTAE-TV Pittsburgh reports:

Someone pried open an ambulance kit and stole powerful painkillers Morphine and Fentanyl, according to police. Now, investigators are trying to retrace steps from the past 10 months to figure out who stole them.

State police in Greensburg are investigating the theft from Norvelt EMS in (Westmoreland County). The ambulance kits are pre-assembled and stored inside their building until they are needed in an actual ambulance. This particular kit was tagged June 2012, but its tampering wasn't noticed until late March, according to state trooper Steven Limani.

"The problem we're having with the investigation is all these kits are tagged, and this one was tagged back in June. They just realized the end of last month that they're missing these drugs because they noticed it was pried open," Limani said.

WTAE-TV has more details plus a video report from the scene HERE.
Norvelt EMS WEBSITE.

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AN INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, EMS firm reported Tuesday that someone had apparently broken into their stocks of painkiller drugs, removed the drug and replaced it with a clear liquid to hide their crime.

WXIN-TV tells us:

Somebody had stolen seven bottles of Fentanyl Citrate, which is a potent painkiller worth $100 per bottle. However, the thief didn’t just swipe the bottles. They apparently tried to cover their tracks. "They had taken the drugs out, put something back in, and then tried to make it look like the bottles hadn’t been opened," said IMPD Sgt. Linda Jackson.

Early indications point to a possible inside job at the facility. The drug bottles had been stored in a secure room since Dec. 12, when they were transported from a hospital. Only employees with security scan cards would have had access to the room.

As the investigation is getting underway, the theft itself raises a disturbing question: what if the bottles had been loaded onto an ambulance to be used on patients suffering from severe pain? The clear liquid left in the bottles could be water or simple saline solution with no pain relieving effects. "Had their quality control not been what it is, it could have been very painful for someone," Jackson said.

IMPD will be looking for possible fingerprints and scouring through security camera footage to look for leads. But that could be a big job, since the crime could have occurred at any time since Dec. 12.

WXIN-TV also filed a video report on the theft HERE.

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Posted by on April 4, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, EMS Topics • Tagged: ,

Another Stolen Ambulance

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Indiana Druggie Causes Heavy Damage

AN ANDERSON, INDIANA, MAN was arrested this morning (Friday) after he stole an ambulance and crashed into five parked cars.

WTHR-TV

Around 4 am an Anderson Fire Department medic unit was treating a patient in an apartment building when Joseph Sandlin, 27, got into the idling ambulance and drove off.  His journey was shortened just outside the apartment complex when he crashed heavily into five parked cars.  All six vehicles were extensively damaged.

WISH-TV

WISH-TV reports:

Police officers found Sandlin sitting in the driver's seat. As he was being arrested, he told police he took hydrocodone and several other pills, including bath salts. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The release said when officers asked him why he stole the ambulance, he said "he took it because he wanted to find a police car and wreck into it so that we would shoot him."

Sandlin was arrested and charged with theft of a motor vehicle, a Class C felony; operating while intoxicated/drugs, a Class A misdemeanor; leaving the scene of a property damage accident, a Class B misdemeanor; and operator never licensed, a Class C misdemeanor. He was also wanted on a warrant out of Anderson City Court for domestic battery.

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Posted by on March 29, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, EMS Topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged: , , ,

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Payroll Fiddling Catches 5 City Officials

THE CURRENT CHIEF OF THE SUMTER County, South Carolina, Fire Department was indicted last week on charges stemming from his previous position in Jasper County.

It was disclosed that Chief John Ekaitis is one of five former officials of the Hardeeville city government who were charged with a variety of misdemeanors relating to the abuse of the city's leave cashing policy.

Chief John Ekaitis pictured shortly after his
appointment as Sumter County Fire Chief in 2011
(Americus Times-Recorder file photo)

The Southern Political Report tells us that the five indictees are:

Eric Washington, former police lieutenant, for the period August l, 2005 through April 15, 2006.

Santesia Henderson, former city treasurer, for the period June 1, 2005 through April 15, 2006.

Randall Shane Haynes, former city manager, for the period Aug. 1, 2005 through April 30, 2006.

John Ekaitis, former fire chief, for the period Oct. 1, 2005 through Feb. 15, 2006.

James Hubbard, former police chief, for the period Jan. 1, 2006 through April 15, 2006.

Documents released by the S.C. Attorney General's office Thursday detail the charge of misconduct in office as when an individual did "knowingly, intentionally, and willfully engage in acts of misconduct by engaging in acts and omissions in the form of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance, in breach of his duties to the public of good faith, honesty, and accountability."

The State newspaper adds:

The indictments do not outline specific acts of misconduct. All of the alleged misconduct occurred between 2005 and 2006.

The S.C. Law Enforcement Division launched a criminal investigation into Hardeeville’s finances in 2008 after a four-year forensic audit identified irregularities.

Mayor Bronco Bostick, who was elected in May of that year, said at the time that he turned over the audit’s results to SLED so agents could review the conduct of the city’s "previous administration."

All five of them have previously been either fired or resigned from their jobs. Ekaitis, who was hired as the Sumter County Fire Chief in 2011, served as the fire chief in Hardeeville from 2003 to 2007.

For more details read the complete report in The State HERE.

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Posted by on March 28, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, current events, News • Tagged: , , , ,

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"Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up…."

THE FORMER TREASURER OF THE Franklin Hose Co. #2 in Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday and charged with felony theft.  Daniel Boyd West, 40, is accused of writing checks to himself on the fire department account over a period of a little over three years.

Times Leader / Wilcox

The Luzerne County Citizens Voice reports:

According to a police affidavit filed in court, fire officials learned about the thefts in October, when First Liberty Bank informed the department its checking account was overdrawn.

After conducting an internal audit, officials found out about 50 unauthorized checks totaling $4,984 had been written out to and cashed by West, who as treasurer was in charge of issuing payroll checks to firefighters for their time spent on fire calls.

West declined to comment Friday, when he appeared at Magisterial District Judge Paul Roberts Jr.'s courtroom for an arraignment. He told investigators, however, that he needed the money for rent because he and his children were going to be evicted from their apartment, according to the affidavit.

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"It's just a sad situation where he put his hand in the cookie jar. It got attractive, I guess, and easy to do," Edwardsville Fire Chief Ray King said. "He was just taking a little bit at a time and finally the cookie jar was empty. We wrote a check and it bounced."

King said he was shocked that West, a reliable, active member of the department for nearly a decade, had targeted the fire company. "You'd just never think it of him – that this would happen," King said. "I know he had a lot of family issues going on. That's no way to solve them, but I guess that's the way he chose."

The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader adds:

West is the third firefighter official to be charged with stealing money from an area fire department in recent years.

RiceTownship police earlier this month charged Donald Bly, 31, of Cherry Wood Drive, Nuangola, with stealing $4,395 from the Rice Township Fire Department last year. Bly was the treasurer at the time of the alleged thefts. A preliminary hearing for Bly is scheduled on April 10.

State police at Wyoming charged Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Chief John Paul Yuknavich, 49, in December 2011 with stealing nearly $12,000 from the fire department’s bank account and using the department’s Sam’s Club credit card for personal use. Yuknavich’s trial has been continued due to an appeal.

West has been released on $7,500 unsecured bail.

Read the full story in the Citizens Voice HERE.

Hat tip:  Mark D.

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Posted by on March 25, 2013 • Filed under: crime, current events, Fire Rescue Topics

Another Dirty Treasurer Goes Down

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Couldn't Gamble Her Way Back

AMANDA STUMBRIS, 41, WAS SENTENCED Friday to serve 8 years in plus 12 years of extended supervision for embezzling more than $132,000 over a 3-year period from the Wausaukee (Wisconsin) Rescue Squad.

Amanda Stumbris  (WLUK-TV)

Stumbris was arrested this past September when she was found to have used a rescue squad debit card to make cash withdrawals. She also allegedly purchased satellite television services and movies. Investigators said that she also used the money to cover gambling expenses. Stumbris was also accused of writing and cashing payroll checks for amounts greater than what she was owed.

NBC26 filed this video report from the squad building last September:

 

(See WLUK-TV story of Sept. 18 HERE.)

On January 24th, as part of a plea bargain agreement, she entered guilty pleas to four felony counts of Theft from a Business Setting.

Yesterday's sentencing was documented by WLUK-TV HERE.

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Posted by on March 23, 2013 • Filed under: crime, EMS Topics, Law & Justice, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – March 23

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Saturday Morning – How to Enjoy Spending Your Money
And How to Get It First

It was disclosed the other day that on March 17 Peter Scott died in London at age 82.  His name means nothing to Americans and very few Brits will recognize it at first, either.  But in his prime Mr. Scott earned his reputation as one of the world's most successful cat burglars.

Peter Scott (BBC News)

The London Telegraph referred to him as Britain’s most prolific plunderer of the great and good (who) took particular pains to select his victims from the ranks of aristocrats, film stars and even royalty.

And plunder he did, stealing more than £30 million worth of jewels, art work, cash and furs over his lifetime during which he served a total of 16 years in prison for half a dozen convictions.  The Telegraph continues:

In the course of thieving jewellery and artworks from Mayfair mansions, Bond Street shops and stately homes, Scott also served Fleet Street as handy headline fodder, being variously hailed the "King of the Cat Burglars", "Burglar to the Stars" or the "Human Fly". He identified a Robin Hood streak in himself, too, asserting in his memoirs that he had been "sent by God to take back some of the wealth that the outrageously rich had taken from the rest of us".

"I felt like a missionary seeing his flock for the first time," he explained when he recalled casing Dropmore House, the country house of the press baron Viscount Kemsley, on a rainy night in 1956 and squinting through the window at the well-heeled guests sitting down to dinner. "I decided these people were my life’s work."

Always a meticulous planner, Scott bought a new suit before each job, so that he would not look out of place in the premises he was burgling. Fear, the possibility of capture, excited him.

During one break-in "a titled lady appeared at the top of the stairs. 'Everything’s all right, madam,’ I shouted up, and she went off to bed thinking I was the butler." On other occasions, if disturbed by the occupier, he would shout reassuringly: "It’s only me!"

The roll-call of "marks" from whom he claimed to have stolen valuables included Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh, Sophia Loren, Maria Callas and the gambling club and zoo owner John Aspinall. "Robbing that bastard Aspinall was one of my favourites," he recollected. "Sophia Loren got what she deserved too."

Scott stole a £200,000 necklace from the Italian star when she was in Britain filming The Millionairess in 1960. Billed in the newspapers as Britain’s biggest jewellery theft, it yielded Scott £30,000 from a "fence".

He made the most of his gains by spending lavishly on clothing, cars, and women.  In his final years he was bankrupt, claiming all his money had gone to "head waiters and tarts."  Living in welfare housing, he was crippled from excessive knee damage caused by too many tumbles off of rooftops.

Now that you know of his infamy, read the complete obituary in The Telegraph HERE.

It's interesting to learn that firefighters aren't the only ones who retire with bad knees.  While we still can, let's wander over to the trucks and get the equipment checked out.  I'll make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is still working well, then we'll meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on March 23, 2013 • Filed under: crime, morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Swift Justice For UK Ambulance Thief

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GPS Alerts Dispatcher To Theft

A MAN IN SURREY, England, stole an ambulance Sunday and found himself serving jail time before the next day was out.

Gary Elms, 37, broke into the Kingston Road ambulance station in Leatherhead around 2 am Sunday morning and then stole one of the South East Coast Ambulance Service units right out of the station.  The GPS unit installed in the ambulance suddenly started sending travel signals to the dispatcher who knew that there wasn't anybody assigned to a call from that station, so he notified the police.

Knowing exactly where the ambulance was at all times, it didn't take long for the police to track it down and then arrest the witless thief.

A typical South East Coast Ambulance

The next morning, on Monday Elms appeared before the Magistrate's Court where he pleaded guilty to burglary and aggravated vehicle taking.  Whereupon the judge immediately sentence him to serve 20 weeks in jail and he was hauled off to the pokey, less than 35 hours after he came up with the Great Idea.

The front end of the ambulance had some damage to it, but it isn't expected to be out of service for very long.

The Surrey Comet has the STORY.

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Posted by on March 20, 2013 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, current events, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged: , ,

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Moving Out So That Others Can Move Up ….

THE NOW-FORMER FIRE CHIEF of Hayden, Arizona, has been charged with theft and trafficking in stolen property.  Charles Vega, 37, is accused of stealing $850 which were the proceeds of the local VFD's annual dance-fund raiser last December.  He is also accused of stealing over $4,000 worth of chainsaws from his former employer and then trying to sell them.

Charles Vega

Hayden police first investigated the missing funds and when the evidence led them to a city employee (Vega) they contacted the Pinal County Sheriff to take over the investigation.  At the same time, the Gila County Sheriff's Office was investigating the theft of as many as four chainsaws worth $1,120 each from the Asarco Mine in Kearny, Arizona. It was discovered that Vega was a former employee of the mine and one of the last people to have the items.

He was caught up when he tried to sell one of the chainsaws on eBay.  The sheriff seized the saw and arrested Vega.  Under questioning, Vega admitted that he stole the chainsaws with the intention of using the money to pay back the $850 that he had taken from the FD.

He is currently free on personal recognizance until his trials.

KTVK-TV has the STORY.

Hat tip:  Chip S.

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ON MARCH 14 FIREGEEZER posted an article HERE on the difficulties facing the Jerusalem Township, Ohio, fire chief Harold Stanton. 

Last night (Tuesday) the township trustees held a 25-minute executive session and then reconvened for their public meeting and voted unanimously to terminate Stanton. 

The Toledo Blade writes today:

Mr. Stanton, who attended the meeting, deferred all comments to his attorney, Kevin Greenfield. Mr. Greenfield said he and his client plan to file an appeal in Lucas County Common Pleas Court today, calling the decision "erroneous."

"They’re holding him to a standard of misconduct and misfeasance, when there’s absolutely no evidence," he said.

Mr. Stanton, who has been chief since 2008, has been suspended from duties since March 5 for allegedly allowing resident Jim Gray, who is not on the fire department, to remain at the scene in four or five emergency situations. Some witnesses said they saw Mr. Gray using equipment at scenes.

Read the entire story HERE.

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IN BROOME COUNTY, NEW YORK, the fire chief of the Chenango Forks Fire Department has been arrested and charged with felony misconduct for stealing a fire department vehicle by falsifying paperwork to put the car's ownership into his name.

WBNG-TV tells:

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division arrested Lewis G. Merritt, 57, of Chenango Forks, after an investigation into the misappropriation of property at the Chenango Forks Fire Company. Deputies say Merritt falsified paperwork to obtain a vehicle for personal use that had been donated to the fire company.

The vehicle was donated to the fire company by a downstate New York fireman’s fund, according to the sheriff's office.

Merritt was taken into custody Sunday and charged in the town of Dickinson with offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree, a class E felony, and official misconduct, a class A misdemeanor.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin adds:

Merritt is accused of filing paperwork saying the vehicle was his when, in fact, it belonged to the fire company. The alleged falsification involved Department of Motor Vehicles records, he said.

Ellis said the matter was brought to the attention of the Sheriff’s Office about three weeks ago by the current chief of the Chenango Forks Fire Company.

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Posted by on March 20, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,