By Darryl Enriquez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Copyright 2007 Journal Sentinel Inc.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Embattled firefighter Charles Stelter, accused of attempting to hire a hit man to kill the husband of his former lover, has resigned from the Fire Department, his labor lawyer confirmed Tuesday.
Stelter ended his fight to save his job because the allegations brought by Fire Chief Allen LaConte made him feel that he could never enter a Waukesha Fire Department building again, labor attorney John Fuchs said of his client.
“He had reached a point that he was trying to stay because of the support he was getting from his co-workers,” Fuchs said of Stelter. “The fact of the matter is he just lost interest in working there.”
Despite the absence of criminal charges in the case, LaConte brought Stelter before the Police and Fire Commission in February on separate allegations of violating employee codes of conduct and insubordination for refusing to answer questions during a departmental investigation. LaConte wanted commission approval to fire Stelter.
Issue dissolves
The commission had consented to issue a ruling on the charges. With Stelter’s resignation, the issues are no longer before the commission, chairman Brian Cahill said.
A criminal investigation into the incident is still pending with District Attorney Brad Schimel, who initially refused to consider charges but later changed his mind. Schimel is not discussing the details of his investigation. However, Schimel said his investigation is continuing, despite Stelter’s resignation.
Stelter’s criminal attorney is in negotiations with Schimel.
LaConte’s attorney, James Korom, said he would not comment on Stelter’s resignation, which went into effect June 1. LaConte also said he would not comment because it involved a personnel issue.
Accused of affair
Stelter is accused of having an affair with the wife of a Waukesha County jailer while she was his student at Waukesha County Technical College. The allegations say that after she ended the affair, Stelter tried to hire a “gang banger” to kill her husband.
Fuchs called the story “silly” and said he was confused by LaConte’s harsh stance.
Stelter refused to answer fire officials’ questions late last fall because he and Fuchs believed LaConte was more interested in criminal prosecution than in resolving a job action, Fuchs said.
“We walked out and we’d do it again,” Fuchs said. “We were never approached about (Stelter) behaving badly and taking a five-day suspension. We were never approached with a simple solution. If we had, it would have been a cheap and quick resolution.”
Stelter could not be reached for comment through telephone calls to his home.