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Volunteer Theft Angers Fire Officials

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - As the days of volunteer fire departments all but disappear, Pasco County emergency officials are wondering if their fundraising efforts should follow suit.

The latest case of a volunteer accused of taking money from a local fire department has prompted officials to take another look at how funds are collected, overseen and distributed among such organizations.

"We are going to look at some of their fundraising and whether they need to have some of those account balances," said Mike Ciccarello, acting assistant chief of Pasco County Fire Rescue. "If they have all this money sitting around idly, it's a temptation, it seems."

Friday's arrest of Alicia Long Puertas on charges of stealing more than $20,000 while treasurer of the Land O' Lakes Volunteer Fire Department is the latest in a series of controversies dating back 20 years. The other cases involved two former chiefs and a treasurer of the same department and a third treasurer from a volunteer department in west Pasco County.

Pasco's Emergency Services Division has merged with most remaining volunteer departments in recent years, largely because of their financial woes and difficulty staffing around the clock, Ciccarello said. Pasco pays for basic training of 215 volunteers, including 100 trained to fight fires, and awards them a stipend. The organizations maintain separate charters, however, so the county does not have jurisdiction over monetary accounts.

Residents pay for fire protection through a special county tax. Fire protection in Land O' Lakes will not be affected by the losses from the volunteer account, Ciccarello said.

"I don't think it was earmarked for anything," he said.

Puertas was arrested after the president of the organization checked a bank balance and found there was only $218 in an account that should have had close to $25,000. A subsequent review showed the organization was missing $22,630.

When questioned, Puertas told sheriff's detectives she "borrowed" money from the fire department because of financial and marital problems, according to reports. She used $3,000 to help buy a Honda, then made additional car payments and paid a variety of other bills. Investigators surmise she started taking money from the account in 2005.

Theft Cases Not New In Pasco

The story was a familiar one to veterans and newcomers fighting fires in Pasco County.

Another volunteer treasurer, Matthew Biasotti, was accused in October of stealing more than $22,000 from the West Pasco Volunteer Fire Department.

In March 2006, James Byrne was convicted of stealing about $28,000 from the Land O' Lakes department while he was the volunteer chief two years earlier. Investigators said Byrne used a department-issued ATM card to buy jewelry, stereo equipment and airline tickets. Byrne resigned and was ordered to pay restitution for up to 15 years.

In 1997, former Land O' Lakes Chief Wayne Kerr resigned after he and another department official were investigated on charges of questionable spending and for taking payments in exchange for signing off on community service hours.

Kerr was never formally charged, in part because the statute of limitations had expired. The board of directors also retroactively approved some of his purchases, including repairs and gasoline for his vehicle, which he used for department business.

In 1989, Donald Arthur Roy, a former president, treasurer and secretary of the Land O' Lakes volunteer department, pleaded no contest to writing and depositing forged checks totaling about $10,000. At the time, then-Chief Ross Wright said the department would better screen its volunteers.

Pasco Emergency Services in June dedicated two full-time, paid firefighters to the Land O' Lakes station off Hale Road. Officials plan to build another station east of U.S. 41, but construction has been delayed, Ciccarello said. The volunteer organization, like many others, was having trouble staffing the station.

"It's hard to find firefighters who are available 24-7," Ciccarello said. "We also are hiring some of the volunteers."

'There Needs To Be More Scrutiny'

Typically, money in the volunteer department accounts, which is monitored by the treasurer and a board of directors, covers additional training and incidental costs, such as gasoline for personal vehicles or clothing damaged in a fire, Ciccarello said.

Pasco Fire Rescue officials had planned to take additional measures to control the volunteer funds, Ciccarello said. The latest case may expedite those efforts.

"There needs to be more scrutiny of funds," Ciccarello said, adding the Land O' Lakes board of directors reviewed treasury reports but did not look at bank statements. "This was from electronic transfers."

Claude Miranda, who was assistant chief of the Moon Lake Volunteer Fire Department before it closed in 2001, said it is difficult to sustain a volunteer department. In Moon Lake, firefighters sent postcards to residents asking for $18 in yearly dues for services. They received a 3 percent response.

To make up the difference, the department conducted an annual "boot drive," and organized fish fries and spaghetti dinners, but support for those events dwindled. The department depended on proceeds from filling swimming pools for those served by wells and septic tanks.

The department also had difficulty attracting volunteers, Miranda said.

"It used to be that the butcher, baker and candlestick maker were all volunteer firefighters, and they closed up shop when they heard the fire bell," he said. "Nowadays, nobody lives and works in the same community."

Tribune researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report. Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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