Shooting The Messenger
It’s pretty scary that just one area of Harris County spends more than $100 million to run a fire and ambulance service…
and taxpayers are getting cheated.
The Cy-Fair Fire Department is being rocked by allegations of fraud and retaliation against paramedics who try to speak out against the Command Staff.
Shooting the messenger is the wrong answer.
Shooting The Messenger
You elected these people to run a 10 plus million dollar ambulance and fire service in Cy Fair, in northwest Harris County.
Maybe it’s time to change your mind.
“You guys titled your first video ‘A Toxic 9-1-1.’ And quite honestly, that is the most accurate title you could have given it,” Rob Paiva said.
ESD-9 is accused of civil rights violations, failing to provide private places for breastfeeding paramedics.
“I was told the other day that I should take a mold of my breasts with me pumping and put it at Station 3 and say ‘home of the booby gate,’” Ashley Fitzhenry said.
Age discrimination complaints, even allegations the command staff has falsified training certification documents.
“I mean, the entire Command Staff, I guarantee you, has not attended a class in at least the last three years that I’ve been teaching,” Lanesa said.
Retaliating against anyone who complained.
Instead of investigating the controversial Fire Chief, it appears the plan is to double down on retaliation, even against an elected member of the board.
“I would like to have a motion on the floor to move forward with a referral to the District Attorney to investigate Commissioner Paiva. All in favor?” Narressa Mckinnon said.
“Aye.”
“Motion passes by a vote of four to zero,” Narressa Mckinnon said.
Paiva is the former president of the Fire Department Board.
“This is what they do. They want to get back at you. They want retribution. They want retaliation,” Rob Paiva said.
“They way the administration works here, you guys, is like an iron fist,” Jaime Martinez said.
The message is becoming crystal clear: don’t dare to question the Command Staff at the Cy-Fair Fire Department, including the Fire Chief.
“We need to make sure that the people who have complained are not going to be retaliated against,” Jaime Martinez said.
“You just condemned this administration, the people in leadership who were presumed guilty. Let me finish, I let you finish, who were held hostage to an investigative process that had a predetermined conclusion,” Cameron Dickey said.
It’s getting ugly. After a flood of personnel complaints surfaced, some have turned into lawsuits already, and more are likely coming.
“We had an attorney, in my opinion, before that allowed and tolerated this kind of environment to happen,” Rob Paiva said.
That’s the law firm ESD-9 just voted to hire again, after the current lawyer resigned just a day before the meeting.
And taking action against Paiva isn’t ESD-9’s only step toward silencing detractors.
The ESD-9 Board has also now fired the independent law firm brought into investigate those employee complaints in the first place, before they even issued a report — what a waste of money.
“I was asked to halt it last week by the insurance attorney,” Camela Sandmann said.
Attorney Camela Sandmann says getting fired mid-investigation is highly unusual, as was the Fire Department’s limited cooperation.
“I got things that they didn’t mind giving me, let’s just say that. You know, there were things that they did not give me at all,” Camela Sandmann said.
“It’s a very bleak message for the rank and file, in my opinion—obviously going back to their same old ways, the ways in which personnel were uncomfortable trying to come forward with whistleblower complaints or grievances or the like,” Rob Paiva said.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is reportedly investigating ESD-9 for those questionable certification records.
When we asked to see four years of those certification records, those rosters for training, we got a bill from ESD-9, their lawyers in fact, for $93,000.
That’s bullshit.
So I went there to issue a warning.
“I’m not going to play games. I don’t mind paying reasonable fees for records, but I will not be played. I have seen this movie before. If it’s not stopped, my company will cause you more legal problems. I’m warning you very succinctly. The best way to get me to stay around is to pull crap like you pulled with these responses to my records request,” Wayne Dolcefino said.
ESD-9’s new allegation against Paiva was that when he was the president, he hired a PR firm without board approval.
“This was done without board knowledge. It wasn’t brought to the board,” Narressa McKinnon said.
Paiva says he was only worried the flood of complaints could cause bad press.
“I was following legal counsel on all things. Nothing was engaged. No payments have ever been made. So, I have not done anything that qualifies as hiring them,” Rob Paiva said.
And because the independent lawyer was at that meeting, the ESD 9 Board now accuses her of legal malpractice.
“The counsel we approved for the investigation met with Paiva to remove the Fire Chief while the investigation is underway. It creates an undeniable appearance of bias and impartiality. This demands attention,” Narressa Mckinnon said.
“That is not true. That is very untrue, and it never even was the case,” Camela Sandmann said.
“I was doing everything within my capacity. I was doing everything with legal advisory. So at this point, they can accuse me of it, but proving that will be an entirely different matter,” Rob Paiva said.
And the former president issued a warning. The district may try to take him off the board next, but he says they won’t shut him up.
“They’re referring me to the District Attorney’s office for an investigation, and I welcome it. I say, bring it on. Let’s do this because now I can get all my information and my message out, because you got a command that I believe is compromised and, to a degree, corrupt for the way that they operate and the way that they’re conducting themselves,” Rob Paiva said.
Attorney Sandmann says she’s worked both sides of public corruption cases.
And she’s never seen a board retaliate against one of its own elected officials for the crime of exposing potential wrongdoing.
Our toxic 911 investigation has hit home.
“I have dealt with Mr. Dolcefino a few times on the opposite side of the table. I call him a necessary evil. If it wasn’t for the fact that he keeps finding things in some areas, I think we would need a person like him or his company to do the things that he does,” Camela Sandmann said.
“Necessarily evil? Well, I guess I’ve been called worse. But ESD-9 taxpayers should be warned that if your board continues to try to shoot the messenger it could cost you a lot of money at the courthouse,” Wayne Dolcefino told the camera.
“I definitely feel that the citizens need to start coming forward more and more, because this is out of control, in my opinion. You’ve got a complacent board, which implicates the board,” Rob Paiva.
Keep up with us on social media:
