Mayor to Comment on Atlantic City Firefighters Investigation
By LYNDA COHEN, Staff Writer, 609-272-7257 | Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009 | 3 comments
ATLANTIC CITY - Mayor Lorenzo Langford will hold a news conference today in connection with an investigation involving city firefighters, spokesman Kevin Hall said.
The meeting will be at 2 p.m. in the mayor's office.
While speculation was rampant around the city about the nature of the allegations, no one would confirm details on the record. It allegedly involves three firefighters and took place at Station 3 on Indiana and Grant avenues......Continue Reading
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"The mayor will be addressing allegations that are swirling around the Atlantic City Fire Department," Hall said in a release announcing the press conference.
Langford found out about the "alleged incident" after hours Wednesday, Hall said earlier.
The mayor is withholding comment until the investigation is completed, Hall said. That includes getting reports from the city solicitor, business administrator and Fire Chief Dennis Brooks.
"All I know is, it's supposed to be firefighters," Brooks said. "To me, they're all allegations and rumors until I'm told otherwise."
He still did not have any information Friday afternoon, including knowledge of the conference.
"The police are handling the case," Brooks said.
He did not know which firefighters were allegedly involved, and said he would need information from the probe before he can file a report.
Neither city police Chief John Mooney nor Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel would even confirm Friday that there is an investigation, citing protocol.
"It is the policy of this office not to comment on the existence or not of an investigation unless there is conclusive evidence of criminality or charges have been filed," Housel said in a statement.
It has been a tough 10 months for the Fire Department. Three firefighters have been arrested since September.
The first was William Case Jr., 25, who was charged with child luring and endangering the welfare of a child Sept. 24 when he allegedly tried to meet up for sex with a 14-year-old girl he met online. "She" was really an investigator with the Prosecutor's Office.
About a week later, Fire Capt. Adrian Wilson, 47, was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two juveniles for more than a year. A grand jury indicted him on 10 charges, including aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated criminal sexual contact.
In March, Robert Wenzel, 42, of Galloway Township, was charged with making terroristic threats when he allegedly threatened to kill his ex-wife and daughter. The incident caused the Atlantic City school where the ex-wife teaches and the Galloway school his daughter attended to go into lockdown. He was arrested in Kentucky and has since been fired from the department.
E-mail Lynda Cohen: LCohen@pressofac.com
