IAFF Countdown: The Shah of Schaitberger
“King of Kings” overthrown
I was a young firefighter when, in 1979, the Shah of Iran, the king for over thirty years, was deposed and driven into exile by his subjects.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, friend of U.S. presidents and narcissist extraordinaire, ruled with supreme authority until the sand beneath his feet suddenly shifted. It also didn’t help that his feet were made of clay. (Daniel 2:31–45)
It is said that those he ruled finally tired of his “oppression, brutality, corruption, and extravagance.”
At least one writer has described the Shah as suffering “a form of narcissism based on “a craving for unsolicited attention and admiration.”
So the world turns.
Next Friday, Harold Schaitberger, IAFF president, will, at least formally, close his twenty-year sordid chapter in that role.
He too, loved dictatorial rule, proximity to power and a life of luxury.
Schaitberger is being forced into exile by the man who will replace him, Ed Kelly.
Kelly, close enough to the throne to see the cracks, orchestrated the series of disclosures and notifications to authorities which made Schaitberger’s continuing as IAFF president untenable.
Kelly was a Schaitberger apostle until, as Judas did, he betrayed his master. (Matthew 26:15.)
Like the Shah of Iran, Schaitberger will fade away though he leaves a cadre of disciples behind on the so-called executive board.
He has devastated the IAFF in every aspect that matters:
- making his friends wealthier through no-bid contracts
- taking “blood money” from fire/rescue manufacturers
- extorting money from sick and dying children through the MDA
- awarding himself and his cronies inappropriate and obscene benefits
- falsely projecting integrity while wallowing in deceit
- denying members due process and presumption of innocence
He has transformed the IAFF into a rotting and putrid corpse of a labor union.
It’s good riddance to him.
Ed Kelly and Frank Lima, the incoming secretary treasurer, have promised a top-down review.
We will see if their word is any better than his.
