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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    N.M. Former fire chief can't answer simple question

    Former fire chief can't answer simple question

    Posted at: 02/16/2012 12:31 AM | Updated at: 02/16/2012 12:36 AM
    By: Gadi Schwartz, 4 On Your Side

    It's a question almost anyone can answer without a second thought.

    "When is your birthday?"

    But KOB Eyewitness News 4 has learned one northern New Mexico Fire Chief is having trouble answering when he was born.

    A 4 On Your Side investigation has found former Fire Chief Eddie Velarde may have lied to the state, Rio Arriba County and sheriff's deputies about his date of birth, social security number and criminal background.

    Questions about Velarde's personal information first arose during his arrest at the Crazy Horse fire in March of 2010.

    According to a police report, Velarde had ordered his men to clear out while the fire was still burning and yelled, "let it all burn," during an argument over who was in control of the scene.

    The reporting officer wrote that when Velarde was arrested he provided investigators the wrong social security number and the wrong date of birth.

    Eventually a charge of concealing identity was also added but an Espanola Judge dismissed the case.

    Documents also show last year, Velarde was under investigation by the state health department for providing the same social security number but a different date of birth on his renewal application for an EMS license.

    Velarde also marked "No" on a portion of the application asking about felony convictions.

    Court records show Velarde has been convicted of two felonies.

    Rio Arriba county spokeswoman Erika Martinez said the county terminated Velarde last month.

    "We came into some records that we believe were false," said Martinez. "And we believe that Mr. Velarde turned them in knowing that they were false and they were grounds for termination."

    Among several questionable reimbursements filed by Velarde, the county contested a voucher for four hours of firefighting on the day he was arrested at the Crazy Horse fire. But records show he was only there for 40 minutes before being taken into custody.

    Velarde has never returned his equipment according to the county and 911 dispatch logs indicate Velarde has continued to respond to fire and rescue calls in recent weeks.

    When asked if the county knew what Velarde's date of birth was, Martinez responded, "according to our records he was born between the dates of 1957 and 1960."

    When KOB tried to ask Velarde about the inconsistencies, he told us he couldn't talk to us because he was out of town, even though we could clearly see his truck parked across the highway in the Village of Velarde.

    Minutes after telling 4 On Your Side he was 40 miles away, we confronted Velarde and tried to get him to answer when he was born but Velarde bolted for a door without giving any explanation as to why he was using two different dates of birth.

    The 4 On Your Side team also tracked down a disabled woman who's social security number Velarde had been using.

    She did not want to show her face on camera but told KOB she was very concerned over learning her social security number was being used by the fire chief she had never even heard of.

    "It's scary," said the woman. "Especially if they are convicted or charges something major. It's not me.”

    Velarde appeared in court on Wednesday wearing what appeared to be a fire chief uniform.

    He asked a judge to allow him to continue to respond to emergency calls while he appealed his termination.

    The judge said no.

    Former fire chief can't answer simple question | KOB.com
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  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    20 Albuquerque firefighters accused of fraud

    Posted at: 02/16/2012 2:26 PM | Updated at: 02/16/2012 6:18 PM
    By: Chris Ramirez, 4 on Your Side

    KOB Four On Your Side uncovered new details about a former Albuquerque Fire Fighter indicted on federal drug charges.

    He’s suspected of being involved in an elaborate time card abuse scheme that defrauded the city.

    KOB verified with three high credible sources that Steve Chavez was among 20 firefighters who had questionable and possibly fraudulent information on his timesheet in 2011.

    Chavez and the others were suspected of trading their shifts in a way that gave them a full 40-hour shift many weeks.

    An internal City of Albuquerque investigation, launched by Fire Chief James Breen, found some firefighters abusing the shift trade system.

    The system allows firefighters to trade one shift for another. It’s a legal practice that is granted through a labor union contract.

    "There was a handful of these folks, around 20, where their balances were significant, which would equate to a few hundred shifts that possibly they didn't work," said Deputy Chief Tige Watson.

    Twenty firefighters were identified as having thousands of unaccounted hours, suggesting they gave their hours away, but never worked those hours back.

    "There was a concern no doubt,” Watson said. “There was a concern has to how could this have occurred, how could there be this type of imbalance and who knew and when they knew."

    The group of 20 claimed they worked full 40-hour shifts and received the government benefits that go along with full time work, but their balance sheets showed they were missing thousands of hours.

    KOB Four On Your Side confirmed through three highly credible sources that Chavez was one of those 20.

    AFD fired Chavez federal agents arrested him for his alleged involvement in a Mexican drug cartel ring, smuggling drugs and laundering money.

    City of Albuquerque officials cannot confirm that Chavez is part of the group of 20 in fear of litigation.

    However, Watson did tell KOB that the software that keeps track of shifts and trades has been upgraded and the department continues to work with the labor union to come up with better practices to prevent this type of fraud and abuse.

    20 Albuquerque firefighters accused of fraud | KOB.com
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