IAFF-FC,  S. F. & C. Insurance Associates, Inc. & Liberty Mutual The IAFF board is having their “winter get-away” in Bal Harbor, Florida, during the next week or so. It is usually preceded by the board meeting of the IAFF Financial Corporation, IAFF-FC for short. IAFF-FC is essentially a shell (shill?) to sell Nationwide and Liberty […]

According to media, Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, a former US Fire Administrator, has been terminated for lack of judgment in publishing and disseminating a book which compares homosexuality to bestiality and pederasty and for giving it to employees, some of whom complained. Cochran and others, including the Georgia Baptist Convention, charge that his religious […]

Washington’s West End is tucked in between Foggy Bottom and the Dupont/Kalorama neighborhoods. It also perches on the edge of the now fashionable Georgetown. Early on the area was a modest Black neighborhood though many homeowners sold their properties there during the housing crunch created by the New Deal and Second World War. Today the […]

British Paratrooper Gravely Injured In 2008, Tom Neathway was a sniper assigned to combat duty in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. He was moving a sandbag, later determined to be booby trapped, when it detonated taking with it both of his legs and one arm. Neathway was in his mid-twenties at the time; he went on to […]

Virginia’s President Mike Mohler: I was on the Constitution and Bylaws committee and it was one of my proudest appointments. I worked with people like Frank Montenaro who set a great example for younger leaders. When it became obvious that I am not a rubber stamp for anyone I was removed from the committee. I […]

Lt. Gordon Matthew Ambelas Lt. Ambelas, assigned to Ladder 119, was killed fighting  a high-rise fire in Williamsburg. His death barely makes the front page of the New York Times, effectively buried as a footnote. In the “New York/Region” section where you would surely expect greater notice it is the ninth story down under “More […]

In January I wrote of dozens of New York firefighters and police officers caught up in a Manhattan district attorney (DA) investigation over obtaining fraudulent disability benefits, including from 9/11. Supposedly fully disabled public safety types were outed by their Facebook photos on jet skis, etc. [ http://www.turnoutblog.com/2014/01/07/911-drove-me-crazy/ ] The plot has thickened a bit as Facebook […]

Piercing the Veil of Ethical Secrecy Laurence Gold has been retained to assist in the review of the Schaitberger house purchase/conflict of interest. Mr. Gold: My name is Eric Lamar and I am a member in good standing of the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO.  My membership number is 0293837.  I have been a […]