IAFF: Committee Faults Schaitberger

But some IAFF board members still kneel at his feet.

Shady Schaitberger

The IAFF board created a special ethics committee to deal with 79 concerns raised by various parties regarding financial matters under Schaitberger’s watch.

Why? For twenty years Schaitberger has run the IAFF as his own personal business, enriching himself and his cronies.

The committee hired an investigative firm to assist and have published an interim report of findings:

• In 2007, consistent with running the IAFF as his personal cash account, he reduced the number of annual board meetings from four to three, thus making it easier for him to plunder away. The committee rightly says four meetings are proper; there probably should be six at the rate they are paid.
• The IAFF retains a staff attorney and a law firm and the ethics committee has pointed out that Schaitberger’s use of them smacks of abuse, bias or conflict of interest. All three are a virtual certainty. IAFF attorneys do the personal bidding of Harold Schaitberger and they profit handsomely by retaining their hold on a very lucrative business.
• Much of Schaitberger’s felonious behavior is rooted in secrecy around compensation and benefits: meetings are secret or closed, documents are handed out and then collected, key items go missing. The committee rightly recommends that all this end but Schaitberger would surely fight tooth and nail to keep a lid on his devious doings.
• The ethics committee also pointed out that Schaitberger exercises sole control over the doling out of millions of dollars related to political action and a similar fund created during the 2008 fiscal crisis. He showers cash on those he likes or wishes to purchase and tosses copper at the rest. Making it just and fair by creating some oversight is right but also a very tall order.

The committee has much work left to do, with the help of the outside investigators they can begin the process of peeling the onion to discover the exact details of Schaitberger’s illicit pension and other benefit schemes and dodges.

We know that in addition to his improper pension he has been paid tens-of-thousands of dollars in spurious “vacation pay.”

It promises to be a long, hot summer, especially for Harold Schaitberger.

Stay tuned and stay healthy.

(Want to see the interim report? Ask your district VP, they have it.)

End the Schaitberger Corruption.