Chicago Tribune
ORLAND, Ill. — A firefighter who is accused of bilking his department of $193,000 in pay for time he allegedly said he was serving with the U.S. military but was instead working for a private military contractor has resigned, the Orland Fire Protection District announced Thursday.
Larry Masa, 42, of Morris was charged with felony theft, forgery and official misconduct in January. His letter of resignation was dated Aug. 23, but Orland Fire Protection District Board President Patrick Maher said he only received the letter Monday.
“We’re happy,” Maher said. “We knew that it would be coming to a close. That was our main goal, to bring some closure to this case.”
Maher said the board asked Masa to resign in April, and then initiated termination proceedings against him.
Masa — a lieutenant with the district — is accused of forging military documents to support his claim that he was serving overseas. At the time of his arrest the district estimated that, in addition to the wages paid to Masa, it lost $50,000 in overtime wages to other firefighters who covered his shifts.
Masa’s friend, firefighter Steve Slawinski, 38, of Romeoville was also arrested in January and charged with felony theft, forgery and official misconduct for allegedly employing a similar scheme to defraud his employer, the Lemont Fire Protection District, of more than $27,000.
Both men are due in court before Cook County Judge Marjorie Laws in October. Records show that on their previous court dates, each defendant was involved in a conference between the judge, their defense attorneys and prosecutors — meetings that often indicate a plea bargain is being negotiated. However, records do not indicate whether either defendant intends to plead guilty.
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