AT THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, A MAN WAS RELEASED FROM A SWEDISH PRISON after serving 3 years for attempted arson.

Not surprisingly, as soon as he got home suspicious fires started cropping up again.  Then this past Wednesday things got really busy.  The Local reports:

Four fires broke out in Simrishamn within a few hours of each other on Wednesday morning, including blazes in storage areas and attics and police suspect the fires were set intentionally.

The first two fires were reported around 6:30am, with two more fires being reported in the next hour, all at different addresses in Simrishamn.

(W)itnesses also reported seeing a man riding a bicycle near where the fires were set, a behaviour exhibited previously by the 45-year-old.

He is currently being held in custody “for further questioning” after the police have searched his home.

The full story is HERE.
 

A SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK, COUPLE pleaded guilty on Monday to felony embezzlement charges of stealing funds from the West Crescent Fire District.

Lee F. Lussier, 51, was the treasurer of the volunteer fire company and admitted to stealing $43,000 over a 6-year period.  His wife Dawn Lussier, 46, handled the hall rentals and admitted that she has stolen $18,400 from the department.

Most of the thefts involved bank deposits being made by Mrs. Lussier and then funds being withdrawn at an ATM machine or by writing checks made out to “Cash” with Mr. Lussier doctoring the books to cover up the withdrawals.  Their scheme came to light in early 2007 when a audit of the FD’s books showed discrepancies.  In October the findings were turned over to the State Police for investigation and prosecution.

The Saratoga County District Attorney asked the judge to accept the guilty pleas and is requesting that both of them serve some jail time along with paying full restitution of the missing funds.  The judge will pass sentences on them within the next 90 days.

The Schenectady Daily Gazette has a detailed STORY.

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND, IS BEING SUED BY THE PARENTS of a man who died when he drove his motorcycle into the side of an ambulance last September 14.

According to the police report, the county fire department ambulance was  exiting a shopping center at a traffic signal which was green in his favor.  A motorcycle driven by a 21-yr.-old Virginia man went through the red light and ran into the left side of the ambulance, causing fatal injuries.

Now the family has come up with a couple of witnesses who say that the ambulance is the one that had the red light.  However, witnesses at the scene at the time told police that the motorcycle went through the red signal and their investigation confirmed that, so no charges were filed against the ambulance driver.

In a statement that’s sure to impress the judge that hears the civil suit,  the mother told the Annapolis Capital newspaper:

(The) determination was based largely on the police report and Mrs. Sergent said the police can’t be trusted.

“The police department and the fire department are family,” she said. She said the investigating officers talked to several of her witnesses, but refused to take a statement from at least one. “They covered up something this man did wrong,” she said.

“They figured they could get away with accusing him because he was young and from out of state,” she said. “His light was green.”

The fire department, the firefighters union and the county attorney are all backing the firefighter.  Assistant County Attorney Michael Lord said, “…we certainly stand behind our firefighter and plan to defend this.”

Read the full story in the Capital HERE.

THE TRANS-MED AMBULANCE CO. IN LUZERNE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area), is drawing interest from several government investigators.

It has recently been discovered that a county Senior Judge, Michael T. Conahan, who just retired at the first of this year, is a shareholder and director of the company.  While holding his position on the bench, Trans-Med was awarded more than $47,000 to provide medical transports from a county-owned nursing home.  So far, nobody has been able to confirm that Trans-Med ever had a valid contract with the county to provide the service.

This disclosure came about during an investigation by the U. S. Dept. of Labor into Trans-Med’s employee practices that resulted in an order to Trans-Med to pay $23,470 in back wages to the ambulance workers for improperly calculated overtime pay.

As one thing leads to another, the FBI and the IRS are now investigating Judge Conahan’s financial links to another county judge and an attorney who is part-owner of a juvenile detention facility that has favorable contracts with the county.  Last week the FBI executed a search warrant to review county records relating to the contracts.

Dave Janoski of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice has been working the story HERE and HERE.

IN A SURPRISING BUT CALCULATED MOVE, the South Carolina legislature moved through the entire veto override agenda in one day Wednesday and passed the sprinkler incentive bill.

The consideration over the sprinkler bill that the governor had vetoed was speedy and decisive.  Brought up first in the House, the Speaker, who is from Charleston, moved the bill up early to be considered before lunch saying that “it won’t take long.”

He had laid his groundwork well and the bill passed unanimously without debate, 109-0.  From there it went over to the Senate where the action was similar, quick and unanimous, passing easily 43-0.

This effectively makes the bill a law and gives local governments the option of providing property tax credits worth up to 25 percent of the cost of installing a sprinkler system. The local portion would be matched by a state income tax credit. The incentives would be offered to owners of homes and businesses not required by law to be equipped with sprinkler systems.

THE FORMER CHIEF OF THE COLEBROOK (CONNECTICUT) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, John Boutin, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for attempting to arrange a sexual liasion with a 14-yr.-old boy who turned out to be a police undercover officer.

John Boutin

Boutin was snared in an internet chat room where he logged in under the name “ctfiredude” and sent the “boy” a picture of himself dressed in fire gear.  Police said that he used the computer at the firehouse to send his internet messages.

Boutin worked for the state Department of Transportation as an inspector and showed up for the meeting at a Unionville restaurant driving his state-owned automobile.  Shortly after his arrest, he resigned from both his job, where he had been employed since 1970, and the FD.  He is married and has two children including a 13-yr.-old daughter.

The judge sentenced Boutin to two five-year prison terms, suspended after one year served, to run concurrently. He will also serve 10 years probation as a registered sex offender, which includes stipulations on his contact with children and where he can live and work.

The New Britain Herald has the full, disgusting STORY.

IN ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, A WOMAN IS BEING HELD in jail because she can’t raise a $75,000 bond.  Erin Howard, 26, was arrested and is facing several charges relating to a drunk-driving escapade on June 14 in which she crashed her car and killed her own 6-yr.-old son.

However, an Erie County judge gave her a 1-day furlough so that she could attend her son’s funeral on Saturday in Hamilton, Ohio.  He also added an order that she must be back to the jail by 3 pm that same day.

Erin Howard
(Erie Times-News)

But instead of returning to Erie after the funeral, she trotted a mile up the road to a bar and spent the rest of the day there until the local police, tipped off by the boy’s father, arrested her and took her to their jail.

Now she has been charged with escape along with her previous charges of involuntary manslaughter, DUI and child endangerment.

The Erie Times-News has the complete STORY.

Firegeezer notes:  Ask yourself, now.  If you’re standing outside on a hot, summer’s day and you only have two choices, either go to a bar or go to jail, which would you pick?

GEOFFREY McDONNELL, 47, OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, is described as an “experienced caver” who is also a leader of the local speleological society.  And he knows he was wrong when he entered a cave by himself in New South Wales last month.

His object was to take some pictures inside this particular cave which is officially closed to the public.  While he was in there, a rock slide pinned him to the wall and he couldn’t move.  Compounding his problem is his diabetes.  He was unable to reach his insulin dose and administer it.

Fortunately for McDonnell, four days later some passers-by spotted his empty tent near the mouth of the cave and called for help.  The ensuing rescue operation took 12 hours and involved nearly 100 people.

Channel 9 photo

Now the NSW police have charged him with entering a cave without authority, risking the safety of a person in the park, and entering a closed part of the park.   He faces trial on July 23.

The Australian has a REPORT.

AIR TREK, ONE OF AMERICA’S OLDEST AND LARGEST AIR AMBULANCE SERVICES, has had its operating license revoked.

In late February, Firegeezer reported HERE on a surprise raid by Federal authorities on Air Trek’s main offices in Punta Gorda, Charlotte County, Florida.  Following an investigation into Air Trek’s maintenance records and operating practices, the FAA at first suspended their operating license on May 23.

Air Trek had three crashes in three years’ time resulting in six fatalities.  In addition, it was discovered that their maintenance records were not in accord with their actual practices.  On June 5 the FAA inspectors attempted to conduct further inspections of their aircraft at the Punta Gorda airport and were denied access to the planes.  The inspectors were asked to vacate the firm’s property.

As a result of these actual and attemped inspections, the FAA has determined that Air Trek “is unable or unwilling to maintain operational control of its air carrier operations” and that they are “unable or unwilling to operate to the highest degree of safety….”  The agency then fully revoked Air Trek’s operational authority on June 10.

The FAA’s emergency revocation letter cited 14 air traffic safety regulation violations, including flying aircraft that had not been deemed safe, failure to follow weight guidelines, deceptively recording maintenance shortfalls, allowing pilots to make international flights without proper training or certification, and letting pilots fly after they had failed required tests. 

You can read the entire 34-page letter at the airtrek1 watchdog group’s website HERE (.pdf format).

Air Trek employs about 50 pilots and physicians and is currently down to 8 aircraft.  They were licensed to fly to anyplace in the Western Hemisphere including Cuba.  A large portion of their business was Dept. of Defense contracts to transport sick and injured military personnel.

Clicking on Air Trek’s WEBSITE brings up an “under construction” message.  The aforementioned watchdog group’s website has a large body of information about the firm and its operations HERE.

THE DRIVER OF THE TRACTOR-TRAILER THAT STRUCK and killed a firefighter and a sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina (see Firegeezer report HERE)  has been charged in the accident.

WRAL-TV is reporting that Robert Kornegay, 51, of Fayetteville has been served with two charges of misdemeanor death by vehicle and one charge of exceeding a safe speed. A magistrate released him Saturday on his own recognizance.

FireNews.net has the full story HERE. 
WRAL’s update is HERE.