FIRE PROBE NEARS END; FIRINGS LIKELY 8 ACCUSED IN DRUG INVESTIGATION

Eight Madison firefighters stand accused of violating department rules and
face potential discipline following a five-month investigation by the Fire
Department.

At least some of the eight likely will be fired, while others may face
suspensions, officials said.

"Based on my review, I believe (Fire Chief Debra Amesqua) will be looking
to terminate at least some of them,'' said Assistant Fire Chief Carl Saxe,
who spearheaded the internal Fire Department investigation.

Friday is the self-imposed deadline for the investigation, which began on
April 20 following a news conference in which the Madison Police Department
revealed that firefighters had been caught in part of the Jocko's Rocket
Ship drug probe. That investigation was one of the city's largest drug
investigations ever.

All but one firefighter's report will be forwarded to Amesqua by Friday,
Saxe said, adding that the last report will be given to her next week.

Amesqua said she will review all of the reports, which come with
recommendations on possible punishment, and will look at past discipline
imposed for similar rule violations.

Amesqua said she is hesitant to say when she will make a decision on each
firefighter's punishment, but added that it will probably be at least a
couple of weeks.

Of the 12 firefighters initially implicated in drug use, two have since
left the force. Lt. Terry Rice retired and Okoto Torti was fired for not
having a valid driver's license.

Torti was one of the firefighters who faced the most serious allegations,
including helping arrange an $8,000 cocaine deal between two friends.

Two of the 12 were cleared of any wrongdoing, Saxe said. Their names have
not been released.

The remaining eight are accused of varying degrees of rule violations,
officials confirmed.

Three of them are Dave Barlow, Tracy Patterson and Paul Elvord. All three,
along with Torti, were suspended on April 24 following an initial review by
the department of the allegations. They were said to be facing the most
serious charges.

The Fire Department has never released their identities. The Capital Times
has verified them independently.

Torti spent about 11 weeks on paid suspension before being fired on
unrelated charges of not having a valid driver's license. Barlow, Patterson
and Elvord have been on paid suspension for about 21 weeks.

In all, city taxpayers have spent an estimated $64,000 in salaries for the
employees while they have been suspended. It is almost impossible,
officials said, to determine how much the city has spent on benefits,
overtime pay and salaries for work on the drug investigation itself.

The identities of the other five firefighters facing potential discipline
have remained secret. Officials have said two of them may face charges of
lying to investigators following a report in The Capital Times in July that
detailed documents from a grand jury investigation.

In those documents, a Madison television sports anchor and a hairdresser
implicated the two firefighters in cocaine use. The allegations were not
contained in the information given to the Fire Department by the Police
Department in April.

Following the newspaper report, the city went to federal court to unseal
the grand jury documents, saying they were essential to the Fire
Department's internal investigation. U.S. District Judge John Shabaz
refused to release the documents.

If a firefighter accepts Amesqua's recommendation for discipline, it is
possible the public will never know the outcome, Amesqua said.

Only if a firefighter appeals the chief's decision to the Police and Fire
Commission do allegations, and the firefighter's identity, become public,
Amesqua said.

If recent PFC cases are an indication, appeals could take months, or even
years. Employees remain on the city payroll during appeals.

The firefighter drug probe came as a result of an undercover investigation
at Jocko's Rocket Ship bar, 430 W. Gilman St. Following the investigation,
a federal grand jury indicted nine individuals who were allegedly the most
prominent drug dealers at the downtown bar.

All nine have pleaded guilty to a cocaine conspiracy and will be sentenced
within the next month.