Top LAFD union officers suspended after audit flags $800,000 in credit card spending
The president and two other top officers of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s labor union were suspended from their posts Monday after an investigation by the union’s parent organization found $800,000 in credit card purchases that were not properly documented.
The International Assn. of Fire Fighters, which oversees the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City and other local firefighter unions across the country, suspended President Freddy Escobar and the two others over financial improprieties, including “serious problems” with missing receipts, according to a letter to UFLAC members from IAFF General President Edward Kelly.
The IAFF appointed a conservator, John Bagala, to take over the union and “restore responsible financial stewardship and guarantee the fulfillment of UFLAC’s legitimate objectives,” Kelly wrote. Bagala is a state representative for the IAFF and president of Marin Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1775, which represents firefighters in Marin County.
“The leadership of UFLAC has abdicated its fiduciary responsibilities and placed Local 112 in ill repute. The financial malpractice by the leadership of UFLAC has dealt serious harm to the membership,” Kelly added.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-05/top-officers-for-lafd-firefighters-union-suspended-after-audit-finds-800-000-in-unaccounted-spending