Copyright 2006 Journal Sentinel Inc.
Chief meets with district attorney at courthouse
By JACQUELINE SEIBEL & LISA SINK
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
District Attorney Paul Bucher said a criminal investigation of the town’s fire chief is continuing after Fire Chief Alex Felde and his attorneys met with Bucher behind closed doors Wednesday at the district attorney’s office.
Bucher met with Felde, two attorneys representing Felde and an investigator from the Town of Brookfield at the Waukesha County Courthouse. Bucher left after about an hour, but the meeting continued without him for another hour.
“We wanted to meet with him to hear his side of the story, . . . which we will now go out and check on,” Bucher said.
Felde, the town’s part-time fire chief, working 24 to 30 hours a week and earning $40,000 a year, was placed on paid administrative leave Dec. 31 pending an investigation by the Town of Brookfield Police Department. Town officials also may conduct an internal review. Felde is also a full-time firefighter-paramedic for the Racine Fire Department.
Assistant Chief Ron Rebatzke was named acting chief during the investigation.
Felde’s attorney James Gatzke said after the meeting with the district attorney that “nothing happened.”
Felde is “absolutely not resigning” and there are no charges, Gatzke said.
Bucher would not say what the investigation entailed.
Felde has been with the town Fire Department since May 1994. He was promoted to assistant chief in 1997 and acting chief in March 2002 when then-Chief Sidney “Skip” Sharpe was suspended. Felde was acting chief until January 2003, when the Police and Fire Commission officials named him chief.
The fire chief’s position is no stranger to controversy. The last three fire chiefs prior to Felde resigned under contentious circumstances, and all since 1995.
Chief John Loeper walked off the job in 1995 after disagreements with town officials during his four-year tenure.
Two interim chiefs were hired before a permanent chief was hired.
David Biondi was hired as the permanent chief on Aug. 1, 1996, but abruptly quit two months later after disagreements with town officials. Sharpe was hired as a full-time fire chief in April 1997 and encountered problems during his tenure.
In 1998, the state Division of Health recalled Sharpe’s emergency medical technician license, saying he didn’t meet the criteria to hold a license.
Then in 2000, he was placed on probation by the state Department of Commerce for failure to conduct the minimum number of required building inspections. In 2002 he was suspended after his top commanders, including Felde, complained that he was unfit to manage the department. He retired a short time later.
Felde then became the town’s acting fire chief and eventually the chief.
In another town Fire Department personnel matter, a lieutenant has been demoted, according to recently released town records.
Felde sought to terminate Lt. Tim Meyer, but the town Police and Fire Commission said that was excessive.
Meyer was demoted from captain to lieutenant in September for improperly telling subordinates they did not need to wear masks at a call, failing to complete reports in a timely fashion and failing to report potential marijuana use at the fire station.
The commission on Dec. 22 demoted Meyer again, to heavy equipment operator. The vote was 4-1, with President Donald Pekel opposed because he favored a stiffer penalty.
Felde filed departmental charges against Meyer on Dec. 8. The three charges allege that Meyer left the fire station’s bay doors open and building unsecured while Meyer and other firefighters responded to a call Nov. 4, that Meyer’s written explanation was unresponsive and that it included a false statement. Nothing was stolen or damaged when the building was unsecured. The commission upheld the first two charges and dismissed the third.
Meyer brought up the Felde investigation when asked to comment about the demotion.
“Hypothetically, if someone brings your integrity into question and they themselves subsequently become the subject of a possible criminal investigation, what conclusion would that lead you to?” he said.