A former West Palm Beach fire captain was charged with bribery
By Brittany Shammas, Sun Sentinel
6:34 p.m. EST, December 5, 2013
A former West Palm Beach fire marshal and battalion chief is facing fraud charges after police say he demanded hundreds of dollars in personal payments for required inspections and other services.
Derrick Daniels, a 25-year veteran of the Fire Department, charged one company a total of $800 for two after-hours inspections, according to a West Palm Beach police report. He told another he needed $100 an hour to go on fire watch during a two-day event, the report said.
The 45-year-old Port St. Lucie man was arrested Tuesday and remained behind bars late Wednesday. His alleged scheme unraveled after city officials found out about it in April from one of the companies and launched an investigation.
Daniels was placed on paid administrative leave days after the probe began and soon resigned, West Palm Beach city spokesman Elliot Cohen said.
"The case itself is a good example of the zero tolerance policy that the city has for these kind of allegations," Cohen said. "Within two hours of us first getting wind of it, we were investigating. It's not something that you take lightly."
Evelyn Pennington, Daniels' attorney, said he is not guilty. She said she couldn't expand on that.
"I do believe that, in the end, he will be successful in his assertions and that they will not," Pennington said.
Photos: Nelson Mandela through the years
She also characterized his departure as a retirement, rather than resignation, and said it was planned before the investigation was opened.
When Daniels left the department on May 13, he was making $97,450 per year, Cohen said. He was working at the rank of battalion chief and was also assigned as the fire marshal for the city of West Palm Beach. His personnel record was not available Wednesday.
A Life Safety Management employee told city officials about Daniels' fees on April 30, the police report said. He said the company gave the fire marshal a total of $800 to do two fire inspections. The inspections were needed to make sure everything was up to required standards after Life Safety Management modified fire alarm system at a West Palm Beach office building.
Daniels refused to do the inspections without the money, the employee said.
The investigation uncovered two other companies that, at Daniels' insistence, paid him more than $1,000 for his work, the report said The hosts of the State Golden Glove Boxing Championships – City Soccer and Golden Glove Charities of South Florida – said Daniels told them they had to pay him $100 an hour for being on fire watch at their event or it would be shut down.
Another company, Zambelli Fireworks Manufacturing, gave Daniels two checks, made out for $300 each, to perform inspections in July 2012, according to the report. One was for an outdoor fireworks display; the other was for a wedding.
This is the first time Daniels has been in trouble with the law in Florida, state records show. He's charged with bribery, fraud and six counts of grand theft, with bail set at $14,500, according to county records.
Staff researcher Barb Hijek contributed to this report.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-palm-fire-marshall-fraud-20131205,0,1658020.story
By Brittany Shammas, Sun Sentinel
6:34 p.m. EST, December 5, 2013
A former West Palm Beach fire marshal and battalion chief is facing fraud charges after police say he demanded hundreds of dollars in personal payments for required inspections and other services.
Derrick Daniels, a 25-year veteran of the Fire Department, charged one company a total of $800 for two after-hours inspections, according to a West Palm Beach police report. He told another he needed $100 an hour to go on fire watch during a two-day event, the report said.
The 45-year-old Port St. Lucie man was arrested Tuesday and remained behind bars late Wednesday. His alleged scheme unraveled after city officials found out about it in April from one of the companies and launched an investigation.
Daniels was placed on paid administrative leave days after the probe began and soon resigned, West Palm Beach city spokesman Elliot Cohen said.
"The case itself is a good example of the zero tolerance policy that the city has for these kind of allegations," Cohen said. "Within two hours of us first getting wind of it, we were investigating. It's not something that you take lightly."
Evelyn Pennington, Daniels' attorney, said he is not guilty. She said she couldn't expand on that.
"I do believe that, in the end, he will be successful in his assertions and that they will not," Pennington said.
Photos: Nelson Mandela through the years
She also characterized his departure as a retirement, rather than resignation, and said it was planned before the investigation was opened.
When Daniels left the department on May 13, he was making $97,450 per year, Cohen said. He was working at the rank of battalion chief and was also assigned as the fire marshal for the city of West Palm Beach. His personnel record was not available Wednesday.
A Life Safety Management employee told city officials about Daniels' fees on April 30, the police report said. He said the company gave the fire marshal a total of $800 to do two fire inspections. The inspections were needed to make sure everything was up to required standards after Life Safety Management modified fire alarm system at a West Palm Beach office building.
Daniels refused to do the inspections without the money, the employee said.
The investigation uncovered two other companies that, at Daniels' insistence, paid him more than $1,000 for his work, the report said The hosts of the State Golden Glove Boxing Championships – City Soccer and Golden Glove Charities of South Florida – said Daniels told them they had to pay him $100 an hour for being on fire watch at their event or it would be shut down.
Another company, Zambelli Fireworks Manufacturing, gave Daniels two checks, made out for $300 each, to perform inspections in July 2012, according to the report. One was for an outdoor fireworks display; the other was for a wedding.
This is the first time Daniels has been in trouble with the law in Florida, state records show. He's charged with bribery, fraud and six counts of grand theft, with bail set at $14,500, according to county records.
Staff researcher Barb Hijek contributed to this report.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-palm-fire-marshall-fraud-20131205,0,1658020.story