By Caroline K. Smith
The Chicago Tribune
LEMONT, Ill. — A former Lemont firefighter was sentenced to 2 years of probation Wednesday for falsely collecting more than $27,000 in pay and benefits from the Lemont Fire Protection District for supposedly serving in the military.
Steven Slawinski, 40, of Romeoville was sentenced after apologizing and pleading guilty to felony theft.
Last month, his friend, former Orland Fire Lt. Lawrence Masa, 44, of Morris, received 3 years of probation for bilking $193,000 from his department by also falsely claiming he was serving with the U.S. military.
In April 2006, Slawinski submitted forged orders for deployment and pay scales to his fire department so he would receive compensation while serving in the military.
The money he received represented the difference between what he claimed he earned in the U.S. Special Forces and what he would have earned as a firefighter, prosecutors said.
Instead, he worked as an independent contractor teaching crisis-response training in Bangladesh, South Africa and Kenya, earning more than $89,000 at $63 an hour.
Slawinski has paid back the money he took from the department. He also was ordered to perform 60 hours of community service.
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