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Business Standard
06-05-2025
- Business Standard
LA firefighters union leaders suspended over alleged misuse of funds
Top officials at the Los Angeles firefighters labour union were suspended Monday after an audit conducted by its parent organisation found over $800,000 in credit card spending, some of it by the union's president, could not be accounted for. The International Association of Fire Fighters, which oversees firefighter unions across the country, wrote in a letter to the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City that it would be placing the union under a conservatorship to properly manage its finances. The union represents more than 3,600 members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to its LinkedIn. According to the letter from IAFF President Edward Kelly, the organisation voted to suspend union President Freddy Escobar and two other officials who made thousands of credit card transactions with no receipts or other documentation justifying them. Escobar posted a statement on his Instagram account denying the allegations. I'm going to defend myself because I have nothing to hide and I have always worked for the benefit of our membership for the greater good, the post said. These false allegations are disgusting and politically motivated by those who want to attack the union and me personally and I'm going to clear my name." The union's troubles began in October 2024, when an officer flagged concerns about improper record-keeping to the parent organisation. An investigation found that then-secretary Adam Walker transferred, without authorisation, more than $80,000 from the union's nonprofit to support firefighters and families directly into his personal bank accounts, according to IAFF. Investigators found that after moving those funds, Walker paid off substantial personal debts such as mortgage and loan payments, as well as casino cash ATM withdrawals. He was suspended for breach of fiduciary responsibility and misappropriation of funds, Kelly said. Contact information could not be located for requesting comment from Walker. A more extensive audit was ordered, revealing that Escobar had spent more than $300,000 on his union credit card between July 2018 and November 2024. Kelly said there was no way to determine that the funds were used for legitimate union expenditures. Auditors had warned union leadership in March 2024 there were significant deficiencies in the local's financial practices. Escobar spent more than $70,000 without submitting a single receipt that year. A former treasurer, Domingo Albarran, was also found to have spent more than $300,000 over about five years without documentation of the expenditures, according to the letter. The union's parent organisation voted to suspend Vice Presidents Chuong Ho and Doug Coates for failing to ensure leaders were following policy. The financial malpractice by the leadership of UFLAC has dealt serious harm to the membership, Kelly said. Contact information for Albarran, Ho and Coates could not be immediately located.
06-05-2025
- Business
LA firefighters union heads suspended, audit finds $800,000 in undocumented spending
LOS ANGELES -- Top officials at the Los Angeles firefighters labor union were suspended Monday after an audit conducted by its parent organization found over $800,000 in credit card spending, some of it by the union's president, could not be accounted for. The International Association of Fire Fighters, which oversees firefighter unions across the country, wrote in a letter to the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City that it would be placing the union under a conservatorship to properly manage its finances. The union represents more than 3,600 members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to its LinkedIn. According to the letter from IAFF President Edward Kelly, the organization voted to suspend union President Freddy Escobar and two other officials who made thousands of credit card transactions with no receipts or other documentation justifying them. Escobar posted a statement on his Instagram account denying the allegations. 'I'm going to defend myself because I have nothing to hide and I have always worked for the benefit of our membership for the greater good,' the post said. 'These false allegations are disgusting and politically motivated by those who want to attack the union and me personally and I'm going to clear my name." The union's troubles began in October 2024, when an officer flagged concerns about improper record-keeping to the parent organization. An investigation found that then-secretary Adam Walker transferred, without authorization, more than $80,000 from the union's nonprofit to support firefighters and families directly into his personal bank accounts, according to IAFF. Investigators found that after moving those funds, Walker paid off substantial personal debts such as mortgage and loan payments, as well as casino cash ATM withdrawals. He was suspended for 'breach of fiduciary responsibility and misappropriation of funds,' Kelly said. Contact information could not be located for requesting comment from Walker. A more extensive audit was ordered, revealing that Escobar had spent more than $300,000 on his union credit card between July 2018 and November 2024. Kelly said there was no way to determine that the funds were used for 'legitimate union expenditures.' Auditors had warned union leadership in March 2024 there were 'significant deficiencies' in the local's financial practices. Escobar spent more than $70,000 without submitting a single receipt that year. A former treasurer, Domingo Albarran, was also found to have spent more than $300,000 over about five years without documentation of the expenditures, according to the letter. The union's parent organization voted to suspend Vice Presidents Chuong Ho and Doug Coates for failing to ensure leaders were following policy. 'The financial malpractice by the leadership of UFLAC has dealt serious harm to the membership,' Kelly said.
CBS News
22-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
United Firefighters of Los Angeles president is "outraged" over removal of LAFD chief
The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City president blasted Mayor Karen Bass for her decision to remove Kristin Crowley as Los Angeles Fire Department chief, saying she is a "scapegoat." Bass made the announcement Friday afternoon and shortly after, union President Freddy Escobar, a 35-year LAFD veteran, said firefighters stand united in recognizing her removal as a "grave mistake" by the mayor. "On behalf of the firefighters I represent, I am here to say we are outraged at the termination of fire Chief Crowley, period. In our opinion, Chief Crowley is being made a scapegoat, and she is being terminated for telling the truth." Early in December, Crowley had issued a warning about $17 million in recent budget cuts potentially hurting LAFD's ability to respond to emergencies. She wrote in a memo to the Board of Fire Commissioners that the slashing of $7 million in funding for overtime hours had "severely limited the Department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies." Escobar said that the department has long been underfunded and under-resourced. He said staff was ready and available on Jan. 7 when the Palisades Fire broke out. "I was here in Los Angeles when they did the recall. We had more members willing to participate than we had seats to put those members in," he said -- shifting blame to a lack of mechanics available to fix broken fire engines. Escobar also refuted the other reason Bass gave for removing Crowley from her position as chief -- for refusing to do an after-action fire report. " I have called for a full investigation of everything leading up to Jan. 7. A necessary step to the investigation was the president of the fire commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after-action report on the fires. The fire chief refused," Bass said at Friday's announcement. "I am going to tell you right now, an after-action report is occurring while we speak," Escoabar said. "It's called FSRI, which stands for Fire Safety Research Institute." He said the institute is a private entity, funded by the state, and is actively investigating the Palisades and Eaton fires. The union president continued to praise Crowley's work ethic and character. "I've known Chief Crowley for 20-plus years. She's a person of integrity and a true leader."
