facts about corruption in the iaff

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On September 7, Ronald Watson, former treasurer of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 105F, pleaded guilty in Jefferson County, New York District Court to criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree. He then was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge and was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution within 10 days. The union is based in Fort Drum, N.Y.  Read more...

Oscar Picazo’s colleagues aren’t happy right now – and with good reason. On December 16, Picazo, former captain with the City of Lodi Fire Department and treasurer of the Lodi Professional Firefighters Union, was charged in San Joaquin County Superior Court with embezzling $297,000 from the union, also known as International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1225. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing at his arraignment on December 22.  Read more...

Sheron Gibson won the trust of his union – too much, in fact.  On March 5, Gibson, a former firefighter for the City of Suffolk, Va. fire department, pleaded guilty in a state court to one count each of embezzlement and forgery in connection with his theft of about $109,000 from International Association of Firefighters Local 2801, where he was secretary-treasurer for a half-decade. Read more...

Robert Perez made a living as a fire detective. But for the last several months the retired employee of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department had police detectives on his trail. And the police search seems to have paid off. On August 30, Perez, a former captain and insurance investigator with the department, turned himself in to county sheriff’s office for arrest. Evidence indicated that over a roughly six-year period he had stolen approximately $114,000 from his union, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2046, and on top of that, submitted false tax returns. Read more...

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