Firefighter Masa's court hearing postponed (military leave fraud-worked for contractor)

Southtown Star (Chicago Suburban Paper) ^ | June 17, 2009 | KRISTEN SCHORSCH

[SERKIT]

BY KRISTEN SCHORSCH Staff writer
Accused fraudster firefighter Larry Masa's court hearing scheduled for today has been postponed to July 2.

The former Orland Fire Protection District firefighter is accused of bilking the district out of more than $200,000 when between 2003 and 2006 he fraudulently claimed he was deployed overseas with the military. Though Masa is a veteran, he wasn't in the military during those stints, prosecutors say. He was working for a private contractor and falsely claiming military leave benefits from the fire district.

Larry Masa timeline
• January 2007 - Larry Masa, then 42, of Morris, is charged with theft and official misconduct after claiming to be serving for the U.S. military in the Middle East. Cook County prosecutors allege Masa earned $200,000 from two private firms he worked for overseas. At the same time, he collected about $193,000 in salary and benefits from the Orland Fire Protection District, and other firefighters racked up nearly $50,000 in overtime covering Masa's shifts.

Orland Fire Protection District files a lawsuit in Cook County Court against Masa to get reimbursed for the salary and benefits he earned while overseas, overtime and benefits firefighters earned while covering Masa's shifts and attorney fees.

• April 2007 - Fire district's law firm investigates the administration's handling of Masa. Report says a sealed envelope in Masa's personnel file or rumors circulating around firehouses about Masa not actually working for the U.S. military should have raised a few eyebrows.

• June 2007 - Fire Chief Don Bettenhausen mysteriously stops coming to work, says he's on sabbatical and that he's leaving town. He resigns a month later.

• August 2007 - Slammed with bad publicity, the fire district hires Bill Figel, a former spokesman for Cook County Board President Todd Stroger

• September 2007 - Orland Park police investigation reveals fire administrator and fire district board candidate Art Granat did not destroy politically damaging computer files, including at least one linked to Masa, which the district's law firm alleged about two weeks before a board election. Granat lost the race.

Masa resigns, five months after the district asks him to.

• December 2007 - Deputy Fire Chief Bryant Krizik becomes Orland fire chief after a nationwide search

• March 2008 - Fire district receives $192,000 insurance reimbursement for what Masa allegedly stole from the district. The insurance agency now is going after Masa to get back the money it paid the district.

• July 2 - Masa to appear in Cook County court For his part, Masa says he was working on a covert mission that can't be acknowledged by the government.

Masa was scheduled to appear in court today to face charges of theft, forgery and official misconduct. He had been expected to strike a plea bargain in the case.

Instead Judge Thomas Hennelly has postponed the case until July 2.

Prosecutors allege Masa, 44, of Morris, bilked the district out of nearly $200,000 in wages and benefits, plus another $50,000 in overtime fees firefighters earned to cover his shifts.

Prosecutors and Masa defense lawyers are slated to meet behind closed doors today, after which Masa could plead guilty and be sentenced, assistant state's attorney Dianne Ghaster said. Masa's attorney, Michael Krejci, said he would not comment on whether his client would plead guilty. An updated pre-sentence investigation report is due today, Krejci said.

Masa, a father of two, enlisted in the Army in 1982 and was discharged honorably in 1988, prosecutors have said. He hasn't served since. But five times from March 2003 to April 2006 Masa told his fire district bosses that the U.S. Defense Department called him to active duty, even forging documents about his return to the military, prosecutors have said.

Steven Slawinski, 40, of Romeoville, a former Lemont firefighter, also is accused of drawing salary and benefits and faking military leave to work for the same contractor as Masa. That case is pending, though within two weeks of being charged in January 2007 Slawinski resigned and paid the Lemont Fire Protection District $27,000 he earned while allegedly overseas.

Masa is involved in a civil court case, too. Orland wants Masa to reimburse the nearly $200,000 he received while working overseas. The lawsuit is pending.

A phone number to Masa's home was disconnected and he did not return a message left on his cell phone.

In a 2007 interview with the Daily Southtown, Masa said he was doing "Jason Bourne type of s---," referring to the fictional Hollywood covert operative. Masa claimed he really was in an elite U.S. military unit hunting Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, he just didn't work for the federal government. He worked for USIS, an independent military contractor, and submitted fake deployment papers to his bosses to create a cover story, Masa said.

He also said the fire district did not pay him in 2003 or 2004 and that in 2006 he received only $47,000.

Not much of Masa's lengthy interview could be verified because he refused to provide documentation or contacts who could have vouched for his whereabouts.

The Masa incident was a black eye for the Orland Fire Protection District and provoked some political infighting. Fire Chief Bryant Krizik said the incident even spawned some policy changes.

The district now outsources background checks to a professional investigation company. Documents for any current employee who claims to be serving in the military as well as any certificates and licenses have been verified, and all new employees have an outsourced background check too, Krizik said.

"I think in the past we've ... trusted our people," the chief said. "When someone hands you a document and says this is a military order and it looks like it had the proper signatures and things like that, we took that at face value. Obviously we learned a lesson ... that you can't always trust that."

Kristen Schorsch can be reached at kschorsch@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5992. Kristen also blogs about crime and courts at blogs.southtownstar.com.

[SERKIT]

Stupid as stupid does.

[org.whodat]

He hasn't served since. But five times from March 2003 to April 2006 Masa told his fire district bosses that the U.S. Defense Department called him to active duty, even forging documents about his return to the military, prosecutors have said.

Take him to Afghanistan and put him on point with no body armor. He's earned it!

[shooter223]

..... fraudulently claimed he was deployed overseas with the military ..... Anyone who falsely claims military service should go to prison,IMHO. Shooter223 (First Cavalry Division RVN 1970-1971)