Serious claims against Goldens Bridge Fire Department
June 23, 2011
Section: News
Page: A1
Serious claims against officials
Ken Mastro; Ledger Editor
A hostile and divisive environment within the Goldens Bridge Fire Department, coupled with claims of inappropriate behavior, an improper election and illegal spending of taxpayer money, has led to the exodus of a number of longtime members. Through interviews with a number of members and former members, The Ledger has learned that the atmosphere within the volunteer department had become so charged in recent years that some long-serving and high-ranking department members were concerned for their safety.
In all, this led to one member hiring a lawyer to combat harassment at the firehouse last year, a challenge in Westchester County court about the validity of a 2010 election, and a complaint filed to the state comptroller's office about false claims regarding retirement eligibility.
All five members or former members of the department The Ledger talked to said there were questionable financial practices within the department.
There was "no accountability," said Steven Nardozzi of the department when he served as its president from 2004 to 2007. He said at that time he warned department members to be more accountable of how departmental financial resources were being spent because of the possibility of being audited by an outside governmental agency.
"It falls on deaf ears," said Mr. Nardozzi. "They think, small town, who's going to care? Somebody's going to care, I think."
"There's so much money going out the door there you wouldn't believe it," said John Gagliardi, a former Goldens Bridge fire chief who has not been active with the department in a number of years after being "pushed out" after 44 years of service. "The whole department is a disgrace.
The other departments don't even like to call them."
Ed Brancati Sr., Goldens Bridge Board of Fire Commissioners chairman, said the Goldens Bridge fire district, which is funded by taxpayers, undergoes regular audits by independent outside auditors and did so for years before it became a legal requirement for all fire districts.
However, the department itself does not receive tax money, instead relying on money from fund-raisers and a portion of the fire protection insurance fees homeowners pay annually.
Fire Chief Albert Melillo did not return messages left by The Ledger seeking comment.
False retirement claims?
Although the members mentioned different areas where they suspected shady financial practices, four of them said that one fire official was misusing taxpayer money by granting at least one member credit for meeting annual standards of eligibility for a retirement package when he had apparently failed to do so.
Firefighters must meet certain criteria - attend meetings, respond to fire calls, participate in drills, etc. - to obtain enough "points" each year to be eligible for a year of credit towards Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP), a taxpayer-funded retirement package for firefighters. They all said that at least one member repeatedly failed to participate in department activities but was awarded the necessary points anyway by a department official. The department heads ultimately tally the information and then pass it onto the Board of Fire Commissioners, which submits it.
One current member who requested anonymity told The Ledger he made an anonymous complaint about this to the state comptroller's office a few months ago.
Mr. Brancati said the comptroller's office has not contacted the district about the complaint and no one from the department has raised the allegation with the district.
"Nothing's been formally said to us about that," Mr. Brancati said. "The Board of Fire Commissioners would look into any specific allegations but nothing's been said to us about that." He also questioned how someone else would know whether or not a firefighter received credit for a year of eligibility in LOSAP.
A former firefighter, who asked to remain anonymous, said there are a few "power hungry" fire officials causing the problems.
"It's terrible," he said. "They do what they want when they want without membership approval, and that's wrong. I'm sure money was spent without membership approval."
In general, criticism of the management of the department - both the commission board and department leadership - was a theme firefighters repeatedly mentioned.
They said a number of fire officials are contentious, causing a rift in the department. All five people The Ledger talked to either left the department entirely or are no longer active members, mainly because of the divisive atmosphere.
"I no longer participate in response activities because of the management of the fire department," said Mr. Nardozzi. "There are lots of people that just don't go anymore."
Improper election?
There is an Article 78 complaint filed by former department member Richard Barrett against the department, with affidavits from other members, in Westchester County court, challenging the outcome of a special election the district held in 2010 to elect one of its assistant fire chiefs. No ruling has been made yet.
The suit seeks that the original election outcome, determined by a majority vote but which the Board of Commissioners failed to ratify, be upheld. It calls into question the second "special" election, in which a different member was elected assistant chief. Among the claims, the suit and affidavits assert that proper notice was not given about the second election.
In an affidavit submitted by Mr. Nardozzi that accompanies the complaint, he states that the "Board of Fire Commissioners continually ignores the laws of NY State and fails to give proper public notice of their meetings.
In addition, the Board of Fire Commissioners would go into 'executive session' to discuss issues they desired to keep from the membership of the Goldens Bridge Fire Department. Despite my complaints regarding this action, I was ignored."
Mr. Brancati would not comment on the matter because it is pending litigation.
Harassment Former Goldens Bridge Fire Captain Brian Lynch told The Ledger he had to leave the department recently because he was being harassed by members of the district for months. According to a police report in May 2010, Mr. Lynch and then Fire Chief Walter Hughes both said Mr. Lynch was the subject of repeated harassment with the latest incident being a note taped to his locker that said "YOU'RE NEXT BITCH" with a picture of a crying face below it.
Police told him to continue to report these incidents but that they could not press charges because no criminal act had been committed. Mr. Lynch also said his car was vandalized and someone turned on his equipment battery so that it would not function correctly.
Mr. Lynch hired a lawyer and made a formal complaint against the department about the harassment but no charges or discipline were brought against any member of the department. In a taped conversation between Mr. Brancati and Mr. Lynch, Mr. Brancati at first said the fire chiefs had looked into the matter but then said it was a police investigation.
In either case, he repeatedly refused Mr. Lynch's requests to provide him with a copy of any documentation regarding the investigation.
"Nothing was done about it, to correct the situation - no investigation, no internal investigation," a former fire member that requested anonymity told The Ledger. "The Board of FireCommissioners looked the other way and didn't do anything about it
It was really shocking when his vehicle was vandalized.
Nothing was done about it.
Nothing They're protecting each other."
But Mr. Brancati told The Ledger that he did not give Mr. Lynch any documentation because he had a lawyer with him, and that the district did conduct an investigation but "we had no ability to determine who may have messed with his equipment."
However, he said because of those incidents the district has installed a security system in the firehouse. Also, the Board of Commissioners mandated that department members attend courses on violence in the workplace and harassment.
They also offered leadership training classes.
"We took a number of corrective actions," said Mr. Brancati. "I think the actions we took speak to the fact that we took his complaint very seriously."
Despite that, after 10 years with the department, Mr. Lynch said that while he wanted to stay, he ultimately decided to leave because he feared for his safety.
Mr. Nardozzi agreed, stating that the department had become too dangerous to work at. Because of that, Mr. Nardozzi said he has not been active in the department in the last five years, despite having reached the status of lifetime member due to his more than 25 years of experience.
"It's nothing I need," Mr. Nardozzi told The Ledger.
"What Brian had to go through, this is so dangerous in a fire department setting that it's not worth volunteering and suffering personal loss I don't need to volunteer my expertise if I'm going to get hurt doing it."
But the alleged harassment of Mr. Lynch was only one of the problems he described within the department. Mr. Lynch has written a blog, gbfdx2144.blogspot.com, that details a number of questionable acts by management of the department and the district, and some of the firefighters.
The blog's claims were confirmed by some of the firefighters The Ledger interviewed.
The blog states that a fire lieutenant in 2009 was insubordinate to Mr. Lynch's commands as captain and was ultimately suspended "for disobeying a direct order from me on a mutual aid brush fire and then falsifying his story to our chief stating he had followed orders from a Croton Falls officer. When reached for verification, the Croton Falls officer confirmed the story was falsified."
In early 2010, the fire chief at the time was suspended due to his actions at the Deer Park Tavern fire in Katonah in January of that year, according to documents The Ledger obtained from the fire district.
The blog also addresses that suspension, although it questions the motives behind the suspension and whether the chief should have been suspended at all.
Mr. Lynch also said that after a drill in South Salem, department members "drag raced" two of the fire trucks down Route 138, occupying both the eastbound and westbound lanes, as they headed west.
FOIL stonewall?
The Ledger itself had a difficult time acquiring public information from the department and district. A Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the department seeking any documentation related to the harassment of a member was not responded to for nearly three months - three times longer than allowable under the law.
The fire district ultimately responded but refused to answer a portion of the request because it involved the fire department. When asked for that information, the fire departmentresponded that it is a private organization and not subject to FOIL, and therefore suggested The Ledger make the request of the fire district again. The Ledger finally received a portion of the documentation six months after initially requesting it. FOIL requires the information be made available within 20 business days.
Copyright, 2011, The Lewisboro Ledger
Editorial: Delve deep into department
Thursday, 23 June 2011 00:00
It’s time to clear the air — and the atmosphere — at the Goldens Bridge Fire Department.
A number of members and former members of the volunteer department told The Ledger this week that the department is rife with problems and questionable behavior and activities. They spoke of misuse of money, an improper election, and harassment, among many other concerns.
Perhaps most alarming, though, is how they described the atmosphere of the department: divisive and hostile.
This is not how any department should be run, particularly one with a 102-year history of admirably serving the residents of Goldens Bridge. The department is a pillar of the community and a connection to its past — for decades, it responded to emergency calls in the old Goldens Bridge center, long since destroyed to make room for Interstate 684. Its impressive-looking firehouse is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Goldens Bridge, standing tall on Route 138 and that residents regularly view with pride. Yet what’s apparently happening inside that firehouse is casting a dark shadow over the hamlet.
Are such accusations to be expected from a few disgruntled members, none of which are still active with the department, and therefore have no validity? Perhaps that could be the case if there were merely a few complaints from a couple of them. However, there were a number of firefighters who lodged claims of problems within the department — their stories were consistent and come from long-serving members who were all high-ranking fire officials at one time. These are not just rogue members bitter about their departure.
Also, The Ledger has been hearing similar rumors for months from a number of outside sources, which actually prompted its investigation. And keep in mind the stonewalling the fire district did to delay releasing public information The Ledger requested through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). It took six months for The Ledger to receive a document that by state law the district had to turn over within 20 business days. Unfortunately, this is an established pattern of behavior.
Power struggles and cronyism inevitably occur on some level in most organizations, even volunteer fire departments, but cannot be accepted if they compromise safety. How can a firefighter trust his life to his fellow firefighters when entering a burning building if those same members are harassing him or one of his colleagues? Accidents — dangerous ones — occur when trust is broken among firefighters.
So what has to be done?
The Board of Fire Commissioners needs to hire an outside auditor to conduct an exhaustive review of the finances of the department for the past five years, in addition to the regular audit of district finances. It also must hire a consulting firm to perform a management and performance audit of the department and the district — including the commissioners — reviewing the methods and policies in place, suggesting organizational and employee improvement, and establishing standards for future employee performance. Once completed, all reports must be made available for public consumption — personal employee information may be redacted.
This will offer fire officials an inclusive look through the department and district in order to best gauge what steps are needed to move forward as the department continues to provide its exemplary emergency service, but without the whispers of impropriety.
Guest Column: Many fear revenge by fire officials
Written by Brian Lynch
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 14:34
I would like to sincerely thank Ledger Editor Ken Mastro for his article regarding the Goldens Bridge Fire Department and district. I wish to state that there are many fine members who are still within the department serving the community as part of this extremely valuable service. The story which resulted in the article should not reflect the department as a whole.
The story accurately captured many of the events of the past 18 months including how the Board of Commissioners refused to take action. My personal situation at the department became unbearable because the Board of Commissioners would not step in to assist; I was even treated in a combative fashion by them.
Those of you in our town who know me understand my commitment to the community. I wish more than anything that I could return as an active firefighter. Others who have chosen to walk away wish the same. Our numbers are not just the individuals interviewed for the article but in fact are almost proportional to the number of truly active members remaining. My safety was jeopardized due to gear tampering/theft; it was impossible for me to remain a responder.
In his report to the Board of Commissioners and to my attorney, former Fire Chief Walter Hughes estimated that five to eight individuals were working together to harass me. Those individuals are the leadership now of the district and department. As demonstrated by the non-compliance to the Freedom of Information Law request by this paper, stalling and hoping things go away is the tact of this group.
One of the most disturbing things to come out of all this is the fear of retribution by not only me, but by many others who are afraid to speak up. The editor of this newspaper will agree that fear is rampant. Is that the kind of role we want these individuals to have (many of whom are not even residents of the Goldens Bridge Fire District)?
