Fire/Rescue News - Atlantic City firefighter named by activist in alleged sex incident wants name cleared
By LYNDA COHEN Staff Writer, 609-272-7257 | Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 | 3 comments
A lawyer for one of the firefighters a local activist group has named among those involved in alleged sexual misconduct at an Atlantic City firehouse said Wednesday that his client was never stationed at the firehouse - and he wants his name cleared...Continue Reading
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On May 16, four girls - two of them 16 - were invited inside Station 2 on Indiana and Baltic avenues for pizza. They alleged a firefighter asked one or more of them to disrobe and one or more to perform sexual acts, city solicitor Robert Tarver said last week. That firefighter, according to the city, was Richard Williams - who has since been suspended. Three others - the two captains and the man on watch that night - were disciplined.
Those three men were not the ones named publicly by council aide Steven Young during a City Council meeting last week, which has since rebroadcast several times on Channel 2. But Thomas Flanagan was.
With the exception of Williams, The Press of Atlantic City has not previously named any of the firefighters because no action had been taken against them. Flanagan is being named because he wants his name cleared.
He was not at the firehouse that night, his attorney Steven Scheffler said. Those involved in the investigation who did not want to be named have confirmed this.
Instead, he is a decorated war veteran who served in the Persian Gulf and, on March 10, 2008, fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter, said Scheffler. Now that dream has become a nightmare.
"The fact that you have repeatedly suggested Mr. Flanagan was involved in the incident which occurred at Station 2 has caused Mr. Flanagan and his entire family a great deal of stress, embarrassment and duress," Scheffler wrote in a letter to Young, asking him to retract his statements.
"Alleged and accused," Young said when reached by phone Wednesday evening. "We've always said alleged and accused from day one. We have people in jail who are alleged and accused."
When told the criminal investigation showed Flanagan was not in the firehouse at the time, Young replied: "That's your investigation."
He then said that if someone knew about what went on and didn't report it, they are responsible.
"If someone said, 'I just had a good time with a girl,'" Young explained, "that should have been reported."
He offered no answer when asked how someone who was not in the firehouse at the time of the alleged incident would be able to report about what went on inside.
Young's city boss, Councilman Steven Moore, said he had no comment about Young's allegations and did not recall his aide mentioning the names during the meeting, even though he was there.
Scheffler also sent copies of his letter to Mayor Lorenzo Langford and Tarver, but neither returned calls for comment.
E-mail Lynda Cohen: LCohen@pressofac.com
Posted in Atlantic_city, Breaking on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 6:05 pm
