Langford says he's 'outraged' by allegations against Atlantic City Fire Department
By LYNDA COHEN, Staff Writer, 609-272-7257 | Posted: Saturday, July 18, 2009 | 0 comments
ATLANTIC CITY - Mayor Lorenzo Langford called a news conference Friday to say he is "outraged and appalled" by allegations leveled against members of the city's Fire Department. He just left out the who, what, when, where, why and how of it all.
"You've probably heard what we've heard," Langford said, refusing to give details about the allegations. "It is alarming and extremely disturbing. You can draw from that....Continue Reading
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that it goes beyond mere impropriety."
Since nothing has been confirmed by sources willing to go on the record, The Press of Atlantic City has decided not to report the rumors.
Langford did say he believes the charges are credible.
"If I thought we didn't have something more than just rumor, I wouldn't have called you here," he told the media gathered in his seventh-floor conference room in City Hall. "My gut tells me at the very least there's impropriety, at the very worst illegality."
"The allegations concern improper behavior dealing with members of the Fire Department," city solicitor Robert Tarver Jr. said. "We can't speak about what those allegations are."
Speculation has swirled for days about what allegedly went on inside a city firehouse. Two stations have been mentioned, but fire personnel have been ordered not to comment.
Langford said he decided to call the news conference following a meeting Friday morning with Tarver, Business Administrator Michael Scott, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks and spokesman Kevin Hall. He said his administration wanted to make sure residents knew the charges are being taken seriously and the incident is being thoroughly investigated.
"I'm here to say publicly that I'm absolutely outraged and appalled by these allegations if they are proven true," the mayor said. "If they are substantiated, heads are going to roll."
As reporters questioned him on details, Langford looked to Tarver for guidance. The mayor appeared eager to share more, but said he had to walk a fine line to make sure the investigation is fair.
"The proper authorities need to be able to do their job," Tarver said. "It's our position we have to let them do this."
The incident is being investigated by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office and the Atlantic City Police Department, along with an internal investigation by the Fire Department itself, Langford said. Neither the prosecutor nor police chief would confirm an investigation.
Brooks said he has been kept out of the probe and is letting law enforcement do its job.
Langford said there would also be punishment for any superiors who fail to cooperate fully with the investigation, although he said he did not believe that has been a problem.
When the news conference concluded without any concrete information, Langford was asked what the story was in his calling the media together.
"The story is that we're taking seriously the allegations that have been brought to us," he said. "What we're telling you is, we're not going to sit back and do nothing."
E-mail Lynda Cohen: LCohen@pressofac.com
ON THE WEB
To see press conference video, search ACprobe at www.PressofAtlanticCity.com www.PressofAtlanticCity.com
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It is not the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
