Mayor's Office launches independent investigation of Atlantic City firehouse incident

ATLANTIC CITY - Officials with the Langford administration today acknowledged conducting its own investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct at a city firehouse -- until they were ordered to stop by the county prosecutor's office.

Mayor Lorenzo Langford intended to issue a statement Monday afternoon regarding his findings before receiving a warning from Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel that releasing information could jeopardize the law enforcement investigation.

Langford spokesman Kevin Hall said the city's business administrator and head solicitor have led a fact-finding effort to determine whether the sexual allegations at the fire station are true and why the law enforcement response has been so slow.

"We had to cease our investigation," Hall said Monday. "(Housel) had some concerns that any additional investigation would taint their investigation."

Housel could not be immediately reached for comment.

Allegations of an incident involving inappropriate sexual conduct in a city fire station with females as young 16 began surfacing in July. Mayor Lorenzo Langford and resort Fire Chief Dennis Brooks have separately confirmed there is an investigation, but neither has provided details.

See Tuesday's edition of The Press for complete coverage.