City says fire chief should not be alarmed
Judge rules that promotions should proceed
By Chris King Of the St. Louis American
When asked about an allegation that at least one of his department heads had conspired with Firefighters Union Local 73 to undermine Fire Chief Sherman George, Jeff Rainford (chief of staff for Mayor Francis G. Slay) at first said, without hesitation, “Hogwash!”
Though at the end of a lengthy interview with the American – and a comparison to the fact that an anonymous complaint letter recently inspired City Hall promptly to call for an investigation of the St. Louis Fire Department by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department – Rainford said, “I will look into it.”
As has been widely reported, the police department recently opened a criminal investigation into the alleged use of Fire Academy recruits to perform personal work while on duty – based on an anonymous letter.
Last week, the American reported an allegation that Director of Public Safety Sam Simon and Director of Personnel Richard Frank “are tired of the fire chief and they want to … start documenting things,” which allegedly is why the recent investigation was opened.
The allegation regarding Simon, Frank and Molitor was not made anonymously, but by the mother of a recruit, Lisa Ann Richards. Richards said she was quoting Chris Molitor, president of Local 73, who she said repeatedly called her to dig for evidence that her son had been ordered to perform personal work while on duty. According to Richards, Molitor called her before the anonymous letter regarding the alleged recruits incident was received by City Hall or an investigation was opened.
A transcript of Richards’ comments, made to a fire department official, were reported in the American last week. Richards subsequently confirmed to the American that she made the comments and said she came forth because “I didn’t want to be a part of a witch hunt.”
Molitor, Simon and Frank all have denied the allegation.
Without investigating the allegation, Rainford said he was “100 percent sure” that neither Simon nor Frank would involve themselves in a conspiracy to undermine the fire chief.
Rainford said, “There hasn’t been one phone call or oral complaint against the fire chief” submitted by Simon and that Frank always had been supportive of the chief regarding personnel matters.
Frank told the American, “The fire chief’s name has not even been mentioned in any context involving Sam (Simon)” and that he “certainly would have to be aware” of any formal attempt to dislodge George.
Further, Rainford pointed out that as a civil servant, George’s professional fate is in the hands of the Civil Service Commission, rather than City Hall.
Firefighters supportive of George describe possible scenarios other than a formal attempt to undermine the fire chief as a personnel matter that could explain a conspiracy – and wonder why the non-political mother of a recruit would invent such a story.
“I don’t know why she would make that up and put herself under the scrutiny she has if it weren’t true,” said Addington Stewart, president of Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (FIRE), a black fraternal organization.
(Given the polarized nature of the fire department, it is worth pointing out that Richards and her son are white.)
This week the American requested an interview with Police Chief Joseph Mokwa regarding the allegation that Simon and Molitor acted together to build a case against the fire department before the investigation was opened. No interview with Mokwa was granted. Department spokesman Richard Wilkes only confirmed that an investigation had been opened into the recruits allegation.
The American insisted that Wilkes had not heard the question – the question was whether an investigation had been opened into the conduct of Simon (who has authority over the fire department) and Molitor.
Wilkes said, “I understood your question,” but would not comment specifically on whether the allegation regarding Simon and Molitor had led to an investigation.
To promote or not to promote?
If Richards is telling the truth, that doesn’t mean that Molitor, president of Local 73, was telling her the truth when he hinted at a conspiracy involving Simon and Frank. Local 73 is locked in a battle with FIRE and the fire department over race-based fairness in testing for promotions and George’s refusal to make promotions for unfilled positions until those concerns are answered to his satisfaction.
A 15-year veteran firefighter, Thomas Payton, sees the pressure allegedly put on George by Molitor and City Hall as connected to the promotions, rather than an outright attempt to get George fired.
“The City just keeps pressuring the chief so he will break down and promote from that list,” Payton told the American, referencing a list drawn up in 2004 based upon aptitude tests for promotions.
Payton questioned the timing of what he considers to be a staged investigation into the alleged recruit incidents, which came when U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel’s ruling on the promotions issue was pending.
In fact, Sippel handed down his ruling on May 25, after Molitor allegedly had started digging for evidence of wrongdoing with recruits but before the City had opened a criminal investigation into the allegation.
City Counselor Patricia Hageman said the suggestion of conspiracy “seemed strange” and that the timing of the ruling did not support the suspicion of a conspiracy, given that she and Deputy City Counselor Nancy Kistler were “shocked that (Sippel) ruled so soon.”
Hageman said Sippel ruled “there is no evidence” of discrimination in the testing process. Further, she said that “there is no chance (for FIRE) to win on an appeal.”
Addington said FIRE’s lawyer, Althea Johns, is in process of filing an appeal to Sippel’s ruling.
Chief George has retained his private legal counsel, Thomas Blumenthal, based on his distrust of the City counselor.
Blumenthal told the American that “other issues need to be answered before (George) takes any action” on the promotions, including the finalization of the City budget,
Rainford said, based on the ruling and the City counselor’s judgment that an appeal would be futile, that promotions to captain and battalion chief should proceed according to the 2004 list.
“If we need these positions, they need to be filled,” Rainford said. “If not, let’s remove them and eliminate them from the budget.”
Frank, the director of personnel, said the City is “compelled ethically to proceed with the promotions,” because many firefighters already are performing “higher-level duties without appropriate pay.”
Molitor told the American, “I have always been told that the money for promotions has been allocated within the fire department’s budget. The money is there. We are patiently waiting and hope the chief does the right thing. We’d like to see all the positions filled.”
According to the fire department, the current demographics among battalion chiefs are: 12 white and 3 black. After promotions from the 2004 list, the demographics would be: 14 white and 5 black.
According to the fire department, the current demographics among captains are: 68 white and 33 black. After promotions from the 2004 list, the demographics would be: 88 white and 35 black.
The disparity, then, would be in captain promotions, where 20 whites would be promoted but only two blacks – when 42 percent (nearly half) of City firefighters are African-American.
City divided
The recruits allegation, the conspiracy allegation and the promotions issue all are tangled in a set of what can appear to be intractable divisions – between the police department and the fire department, white and black, labor and management, and City Hall and the fire department.
“There is an antagonism between the police department and the fire department,” the veteran firefighter Payton told the American.
This set fire department officials on edge when the City handed the investigation of the recruits allegation to the police department – though Rainford told the American this is standard procedure, to protect the City and avoid any potential for “cover-up.”
It doesn’t ease tensions or fears of conspiracy that Simon, who presides over George and the fire department, is a former police officer.
Molitor – who scoffed at any notion of conspiracy – said the tension between himself and George is “a labor and management issue that (George) unfortunately tends to take personally.”
It doesn’t ease tensions that many black firefighters are so distrustful of the white leadership of Local 73 that they maintain their own independent organization, FIRE.
FIRE, in turn, sees City Hall and Local 73 as inseparable allies – though Rainford pointed out that Slay has gone against the union recently on the issues of residency and pensions.
“When it comes to our complaints against Caucasians in the fire department, I don’t expect the City to do anything,” said Stewart, president of FIRE.
“I don’t know if I can tell the difference between the union and the City administration. That’s why the chief is confronted with issues” like the recruits allegation.
Stewart and many black firefighters believe Molitor drafted the anonymous letter regarding the recruits allegation, which Molitor denied. Rainford said, “Granted, whistle blowers don’t always have the purest of motives, but that doesn’t mean there may not be truth to their allegations.”
Rainford emphasized, repeatedly, that the allegation regarding the recruits remains an allegation. He also disputed the insinuation that the investigation reflects on the leadership of Chief George.
“We intend no disciplinary action in any way, shape or form against the chief,” Rainford said. “He had the proper protocols set up.”
Rainford admitted that corruption and getting over on your employer is unavoidable – how a leader handles such incidents once they occur is what is key.
“Even if this allegation is true, it doesn’t reflect badly on the chief,” Rainford said. “It’s how he handles it.”
Rainford also said that “the only people who are saying this could make the chief look bad are people who support the chief, including the St. Louis American,” but that is questionable.
Last week, Simon described the recruits allegation as a personal problem for the fire chief.
“He’s got a tough thing he’s dealing with,” Simon said. “The police are looking into it. We’ll wait and see what comes out of all this.”
Simon added, “He has a tough job. We all have tough jobs.”
Perhaps none tougher than being a firefighter for the City of St. Louis, where inherent, persistent danger in the workplace is joined with fraternal suspicion.
Payton said, “You trust a guy with your life, but you’re uncomfortable sitting in the same room together.”
