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By Peter Strozniak . But some of the other hallmarks of his leadership, most prominently the per diems, inspired either surprise, consternation or both. Growing up in Los Angeles, California, Frank Lima has worked three jobs in his life all union jobs as a truck driver, a building trades carpenter apprentice and a fire fighter for the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD), which he joined in 1992. InfluenceWatch Podcast #259: Gores Climate Errors, A Conversation with Symposium Contributor Joel Kotkin, LIVE at 7 pm: 3rd Party Money and Influence Zoom Forum, InfluenceWatch Podcast #258: How to Save the West with Spencer Klavan, Mafia-tied kickback and real-estate development scheme. All rights reserved. According to an internal probe, International Association of Fire Fighters president Harold Schaitberger helped siphon millions of dollars from the union's pension fund over the last two decades for personal profit. ), Critics within the union see the objective in somewhat crasser terms. May 25, 2022. The damning claims could be concerning to Biden, whose presidential campaign has welcomed Schaitberger as a speaker on the stump several times. A former colleague recalled that when Mr. Schaitberger dined at Il Mulino, one of his regular Washington haunts until it closed in 2010, he would ask the waiters to fix me up a little of this instead of ordering from the menu. Greek stationmaster arrested in head-on train crash; 36 dead The Charm City Circulator a.k.a. The attorney for a former East Los Angeles College dean and local school board president accused of embezzlement said Sunday that his client denies the criminal allegations filed against him last . Sign In - IAFF Union officials say Harold Schaitberger improperly withdrew from pension coffers, failed to pay taxes and used union funds for personal expenses. for each out-of-pocket expense allowance claimed during the period of March 2010 through July 2015 where I worked outside of my domicile, as I understood the term, but within the greater Lansing area.). The Trump administration's Justice Department has threatened to seize control of the union in order to root out corruption, and current UAW president Rory Gamble met with federal prosecutors in late June in an attempt to avoid the takeover. The AFL would become the largest labor organization in the world. All Rights Reserved. The allegations are startling: Edward Kelly, the secretary-treasurer and number-two man in the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), is accusing union president Harold Schaitberger of improperly taking over $1 million in payments from the IAFF's pension funds. Mr. Schaitberger is allowed to dispense the cash entirely as he sees fit, although spending data is available to board members online. UNION DOCUMENTS IAFF MEMBERS MAY NOT BE AWARE OF: The following documents are often not openly shared with union members. Committing any act of fraud, embezzlement, larceny, or misappropriation of any funds or property or other thing of value belonging to the Association or any local union or other subordinate body thereof, or refusing, failing or neglecting . and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star . iaff president embezzlementduskull evolution arceus. IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger Decides Not to Run for Re-Election. WASHINGTON Federal authorities are ramping up their investigation into Harold Schaitberger, the former general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). 0 . Pushback to Social Justice Unionism at the, Lessons in How to Run a Congressional Investigation from Bobby Kennedy. Kelly joined the Boston Fire Department as a fire fighter/EMT in 1997, where he was assigned to Ladder Company 17 in Bostons South End. Their University Retaliated Against Them. into the allegations. peterson bulk tobacco. Delaware's 60 volunteer companies utilize about 6,000 firefighters, emergency medical technicians and support personnel. Embezzlement Articles, Featured Columnists, Training Courses, Product Reviews and Videos. Some of the insurance products that the IAFF Financial Corporation offers to the unions members are brokered through SF&C Insurance Associates, owned by Jim Franzoni, one of Mr. Schaitbergers closest friends for many years. To me its obscene, Greg Wright, president of the Charlottesville local, said of the per diems. The report claims that, according to a 105-page document, an audit found that Schaitberger and Thomas Miller, Kellys predecessor as the unions general secretary-treasurer, illegally earned millions of dollars from the union pension fund over the last two decades. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images, The jockeying at the top of the IAFF, which represents 320,000 firefighters and paramedics across the U.S and Canada, comes at a crucial political juncture, ahead of the presidential election in November and union elections in January. Why was President Biden talking about Utah's 2002 Winter Games at the White House? 2. Refusal or failure without justifiable cause to comply with or abide by the provisions of this Constitution and By-Laws, the valid decision of any officer or officers thereof or the valid decisions of the Executive Board or those of the Association convention, or the valid provisions of applicable constitutions and by-laws of local unions, state or provincial associations or joint councils. All rights reserved. Donald Trump The president of the Redondo Beach Firefighters Association is under investigation by the District Attorney's Office for allegedly embezzling as much as $19,000 from the union, according to a. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. DETROIT (AP) A former treasurer for a Detroit firefighters union has been sentenced to one year in federal prison after being convicted of embezzling more than $220,000 in union funds, some of which she spent on airline flights, hotels and ocean cruises. D. Failing, refusing or neglecting to appear, without proper cause, as a prosecuting witness after filing charges against a member or officer of this Association. Some even felt it raised near-existential questions. He invested heavily in data like state-of-the-art mapping software that helped stop local efforts to pare back stations and trucks by showing how such cuts would dangerously increase response times. 9th District Report | IAFF Convention 2018 IAFF DOCS | IAFF Facts.com (Trusts that already file reports under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act are exempt.) This legislation provides us with tools to hold companies accountable to prevent terrible tragedies like the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine and to make those communities whole . iaff president embezzlement. Murdaugh had a lot to lose if his embezzlement was discovered, but that the deaths of his wife and son quickly halted the firm's embezzlement investigation. It was thanks to a wellness and fitness initiative Mr. Schaitberger championed in the late 1990s that the I.A.F.F. Arlington Professional Firefighters By Press . (AP) A former Mississippi Department of Corrections probation officer faces up to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of embezzlement for taking more than $4,000 from people who were trying to pay court-ordered fines and fees. , Gay was named Chair in April, before the group finally released its 2020 annual. In April 2019, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) chief Harold Schaitberger became the first boss of a large national union to endorse Biden's then-nascent presidential campaign.At the time Biden eagerly accepted the IAFF hierarchy's endorsement, an internal union report issued by IAFF Secretary-Treasurer Edward Kelly had already accused Schaitberger of illegally taking more . Since 2018, roughly a dozen UAW union bosses have pleaded guilty to taking bribes from vendors and/or misappropriating union treasury money. . WASHINGTON The longtime boss of the countrys largest firefighter union is facing heat over a string of serious financial misconduct accusations, making his close ties to Joe Biden a point of contention. He is a one-man case study in how to consolidate power in the executive suite through deft use of his organizations funds, which he has managed to dispense to allies and rivals alike with little oversight or checks. business is done and reminded the board that the per diem was not intended to be $80 compensation for time spent., Paul Hufnagel, a vice president from Michigan who until recently claimed the $80 on many days when he worked in town, said, The way I understand it, if you leave your residence, thats when it kicks in. (After Id raised the issue with the union several times, Mr. Hufnagel sent the I.A.F.F. In 1988, he became the I.A.F.F.s chief of staff under Alfred Whitehead, who had just been elected the unions president. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is the driving force behind nearly every advance in the fire and emergency services in the 21st century. Kelly was appointed by the governor of Massachusetts to serve as a commissioner at the Department of Fire Services, as well as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, one of the largest healthcare purchasers in the Northeast. Dr. Jeffery Holland selected as MCITy director CCC, a shuttlebus service operated by Veolia Transportation for the Baltimore Departm It turned out all the board members were having dinner with Harold and Tom Miller, the unions secretary-treasurer. If the allegations are accurate, its hardly the first time that union bosses have used pension funds or other union-controlled financial entities as sources of ill-gotten gains. FORMS. After succeeding his mentor as president in 2000, Mr. Schaitberger further increased the unions reach and profile. "We've had countless first responders that contracted COVID and ultimately lost their lives," said MS Firefighters Association president Chief John Pope. Community Information . You get to go to really nice places, have access to per diems, travel. But, he added, You have to sell your soul to get it.. iaff president embezzlement