FBI
and others issue subpoenas to International Association of Fire Fighters
By Brody Mullins, Ted
Mann and Aruna Viswanatha
Sept. 3, 2020 9:00 am ET
WASHINGTON—Federal
authorities have launched a criminal investigation into pension distributions
made to two top executives of the International Association of Fire Fighters
while they were still employed by the union, according to people familiar with
the matter.
The
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington and
the Labor Department issued subpoenas on Friday to the Washington-based union
and its former treasurer.
Authorities
are seeking to determine whether Harold Schaitberger, the longtime firefighters
union president violated the law by taking more than $1 million in
distributions from his staff pension while still employed by the union, the
people said. They said authorities are also examining a similar pension
arrangement with the union’s former treasurer, Thomas Miller.
A
statement from the firefighters union said it is cooperating with the
government’s requests for documents.
“The
IAFF strongly reaffirms that it did not engage in any wrongdoing,” the
statement said. “The documents requested relate to issues that were approved by
the elected IAFF Executive Board over the past 20 years under the guidance of
pension actuaries and legal counsel.”
Late
Wednesday, Mr. Schaitberger sent an email to union board members saying the union did nothing wrong and blamed the investigation on people who are trying
to undermine the union.
Mr.
Miller didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Mr.
Schaitberger is a longtime confidant of presidential candidate Joe Biden, the
former vice president, and U.S. senator. Under Mr. Schaitberger’s leadership,
the IAFF was one of the first major unions to endorse Mr. Biden in the
Democratic primary.
In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr.
Schaitberger had been accused by the union’s current treasurer of prematurely
collecting more than $1 million from the union pension fund.
Mr.
Schaitberger declined to comment for that story but sent an email to the
union’s board saying the Journal’s reporting was based on “unfounded
accusations.”
The email said the issues were internal matters that were being reviewed by the
board.
The
subpoenas seek pension documents from the union dating back to 2000, as well as
records regarding the union’s financial transactions with Messrs. Schaitberger
and Miller, according to people familiar with the matter.
The government also demanded union records related to a 2018 review of the union by
the accounting firm BDO USA LLP, which found that the union lacked the
financial controls to prevent fraud, these people said.
The
union’s board discussed the subpoenas on a conference call after the union was
informed of the federal investigation, according to a person briefed on what
was discussed on the call.
Included
on the call was Mr. Miller, who has retired from the union, and
representatives from Ullico Inc., the union-affiliated insurer that provides
fiduciary liability insurance to the officers overseeing the firefighters’
pension plans, this person said.
The
investigation comes five months after the union’s current treasurer, Edward
Kelly, issued a 100-page report to the union’s board accusing Mr. Schaitberger
of a range of financial improprieties.
A few months later,
former union official Eric Lamar sent a letter to the FBI requesting an
investigation based on the treasurer’s allegations and other information,
according to a copy of the letter reviewed by the Journal.
Comments
Post a Comment
Please no profanity or political comments.