ALBANY – Volunteer firefighters receive help from a Length of Service Award Program known as LOSAP that provides tax-deferred income benefits to active responders, a program funded solely by a municipality or fire district.
State lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the forfeiture of LOSAP benefits for volunteer firefighters convicted of certain crimes committed against their own fire department, fire company, fire district or fire protection district. Under current law, people convicted of felony arson are ineligible for LOSAP benefits. The proposed legislation would extend that disqualification to those convicted of felonies committed against the volunteer fire organizations they serve.
The bill was introduced this week after former Mahopac Fire Department (MVFD) treasurer Michael Klein was convicted of embezzling nearly $6 million from the department, yet remained eligible for LOSAP benefits under current law. Klein was sentenced to 77 months in prison for wire fraud, subscription to false tax returns, obstruction of the grand jury, and false statement charges arising out of his embezzlement of more than $5.6 million from the MVFD.
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Putnam-Northern Westchester Assemblyman Matt Slater said, “This is wrong. Volunteer firefighters dedicate countless hours to protecting our communities, often sacrificing time with their families to answer the call of duty. Unfortunately, we have seen situations where individuals violated the public trust, stole taxpayer dollars from their own fire district and still qualified to receive LOSAP benefits.”
Slater said the bill “closes an important loophole and ensures that individuals who commit serious crimes against the very departments and organizations they pledged to serve cannot continue receiving benefits from those same organizations.”
Mahopac FD Captain Tom Beatty noted that firefighters throughout the Hudson Valley endorsed the legislation: “This important change strengthens accountability within our volunteer fire service. Under this new law, any firefighter convicted of a felony against their fire department will be ineligible for those taxpayer-funded benefits. I was inspired to request this reform through the help of Assemblyman Slater after the shocking theft of $5.7 million from our department by a former treasurer. Expanding the disqualification standard to include all felonies committed against a fire department better protects volunteer fire departments, taxpayers, and the integrity of the LOSAP program statewide.”
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