1. BY MARK PUENTE, KAMEEL STANLEY
AND ANNA M. PHILLIPS
Times Staff Writers
ST. PETERSBURG — Over a two-
year period, firefighter William
Schleissing asked his colleagues to
cover 1,144 hours for him, the equiva-
lent of nearly five months of work.
Alisa Kapchinski, who also works as
a nurse at Bayfront Health St. Peters-
burg, needed her fellow firefighters to
work 856 of her hours.
Stanley Kordecki, who owns a cloth-
ing firm, missed 484 hours at his fire-
house.
But all were paid by the city of St.
Petersburg as if they worked.
A decades-old policy allows for this
underground market, where fire-
fighters trade or sell their shifts to
colleagues with little oversight. Fire-
fighters negotiate cash payments with
their replacements, barter goods or
services, or simply promise to work
for them later.
No other city workers receive pay
and benefits for work performed by
others.
The Times found the department’s
310 firefighters swapped shifts with
colleagues more than 3,500 times —
the equivalent of about 58,000 hours
— over a two-year period ending in
March 2013.
The newspaper also found that:
• For years the city has been paying its
first responders thousands of dollars
in salaries, health care benefits and
pension credits for work they never
performed.
• Fire administrators take a hands-off
approach. They don’t check to ensure
workers repay the hours or pay the
agreed sum. A few firefighters retired
without repaying hundreds of hours
they were paid for but didn’t work.
• The swap records showed such ineq-
uities in traded hours that it raises
questions about whether firefight-
ers are reporting them accurately. The
practice also raises questions about
whether allincomeisbeingreported to
theIRS.
• Other Florida departments have
much stricter rules that limit shift
swaps. In other states, firefighters
have been prosecuted for abusing the
system.
In St. Petersburg, most city leaders
had no idea of the practice, or that it
was so widespread.
“You’re kidding me,” said Mayor Bill
Foster. “We’re doing that?”
Pay rules open door to abuseSt. Petersburg
firefighters can swap
shifts for cash or time,
leaving questions
about hours worked,
what’s owed and
how income is being
reported.
A Tampa Bay Times special report
. See SWAPS, 12A
S
BY PATTY RYAN
Times Staff Writer
He sleeps little, suffers panic
attacks, can’t afford privatecoun-
seling. Still youthful at 28, he
rarely leaves home, fearful of rec-
ognition.
“I feel like I am always being
watched,” he said.
He could move, like he did
from Kentucky, but he can never
outrun the Internet.
He knows little of Tampa or
St. Petersburg except this: Men
here, like men everywhere, have
viewed graphic photos and vid-
eos of him being sexually abused
as a boy of 12 to 14.
Government mail tells him
of discoveries on the computers
of Michael D. Meister of Pinel-
las Park, Joshua C. Abel of Val-
rico, Brian Leavitt of Palmetto,
Daniel E. Lombardi of St. Peters-
burg and Kyle C. Muellerleile of
Tampa, among thousands of peo-
ple worldwide who have been
caught with his images.
Each week brings more vic-
tim notices, 10 to 30 at a time. He
could shut them off, but he can’t
bury a past kept in circulation by
strangers who keep finding plea-
sure in his humiliation.
“It’s a monkey on your back
that never goes away and always
gets heavier,” said the sex crime
victim, who agreed to an inter-
view on the condition that his
name and current location not
be divulged.
Similar stories now have the
attention of the U.S. Supreme
Court, which is poised to clar-
A victim of child porn doesn’t get to forgetEvery time someone is caught with images or videos of him, the victim receives a notice. He has received thousands.
These are just some of the Florida men, among thousands worldwide, who have been caught with images of a Kentucky victim’s boyhood sexual abuse. Details, 8A
. See VICTIM, 8A
ify a 1994 federal law that allows
sexually exploited children to
seek full restitution for financial
losses such as therapy bills or
lost wages.
INDEX
Arts 4L
Astrology 4F
Books 5-6L
Business 1D
Classified F
Crossword 5P, F
Editorials 2P
Letters 2P
Lottery 4A
Travel 2-3L
TODAY’S WEATHER
8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m.
chanceofrain
More, back page of Sports
50%
70° 74° 69° 60°
Cooling again
IN LATITUDES
Drawn to Joe’s
In 1921, Joe Weiss
got his first taste
of stone crab, and
so began Ameri-
ca’s love affair with
the South Beach
hot spot Joe’s Stone
Crab, one of the
highest grossing
restaurants in the
country. 1L
Worth the wait:
The Goldfinch,
Donna Tartt’s first
novel since 2002,
is one of the year’s
best. Review,5L
IN BUSINESS
2013’s big fail
The Biggert-Waters
Act, with its result-
ing steep increases
in flood insurance
prices, tops Robert
Trigaux’s list of 2013
sour oranges. 1D
IN THIS SECTION
Mandela
burial today
Nelson Mandela’s
body returns to his
beloved rural vil-
lage in Qunu, South
Africa, where the
peacemaker had
always longed to
spend his final
months. 5A
© Times Publishing Co.
Vol. 130 No. 144
FLORIDA’S BEST NEWSPAPER tampabay.com SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2013 | $1.50
UP TO $7,377 IN SAVINGS INSIDE | $499 IN COUPONS AND $6,878 IN OTHER SAVINGS
Sports, 8CARMWOOD OVERWHELMED IN 52-7 LOSS
Getty Images
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston clutches the Heisman Trophy shortly after being
announced as the winner in New York. He’s only the second freshman to win the award.
Seminole
QB wins
a blowout
BY ANTONYA ENGLISH
Times Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Jameis Win-
ston was 14 years old when he
became aware of the Heisman
Trophy and its significance in
college football lore.
Winston played the video
game NCAA 2006, which let
players join the “road to glory”
with a chance to win a Heis-
man — the award presented
annually to the nation’s top
college football player.
Winston created himself
then did everything possible
to win a make-believe Heis-
man.
Saturday night, the award
he could once only dream of
became a reality.
Winston, the Florida State
quarterback, was named
the 79th Heisman winner —
becoming its youngest winner
and just the second freshman
winner. Texas A&M quarter-
back Johnny Manziel also was
a redshirt freshman when he
won it last season. He finished
fifth this time.
“I’m so overwhelmed right
now,” Winston said about a
half-hour after he was pre-
sented with the trophy.
Winston choked up during
his acceptance speech.
“When I looked down in the
stands … I saw my mom’s and
my dad’s eyes, and they felt so
proud,” he said. “And I ain’t
seen that look in their eyes
in a long time. When you see
your mom and you see your
dad and they’ve been strug-
gling through this whole pro-
cess, and now you see a smile
on their face, it comforted
me.”
2013 Heisman Trophy
Like his team throughout the season,
FSU’s Jameis Winston routs the field
for the top award in college football.
668
First-place votes;
589 more than second-
place AJ McCarron
GettyImages
67.9
Passing
completion
percentage
190.1
Passing
efficiency
rating
38
TD
passes
3,820
Passing
yards
115
Ballots
Winston
was left off
13-0
Florida
State’s
record
Too dominant
JameisWinstonleavesthe
fieldinhiswake,GaryShelton
writes.Sports,1C
. See HEISMAN, 9A

2. 12A | Sunday, December 15, 2013 | Tampa Bay Times * *
Fire Chief Jim Large said he sees no
problem with it, and doesn’t think tax-
payers should mind, either.
“When they call 911, they get the ser-
vice they pay for,” said Large, who has led
the department since 2006. “Swap time
doesn’t compromise that service.”
A public watchdog organization
called on the city to curb the practice
except for extreme circumstances.
“This is a form of gaming the system
for personal enrichment,” said Dominic
Calabro, head of the nonprofit Florida
TaxWatch.
“I have some serious questions about
liability, about accountability, about
transparency. It sounds like a wonderful
gig for the firemen, but how is this bene-
fitting the taxpayer, the citizenry?”
• • •
St. Petersburg firefighters work about
122 shifts a year — 24 hours on and 48
hours off.
Many work other jobs or run their
own companies because of this stag-
gered schedule. If they need more time,
they can ask someone to work for them.
No firefighter is allowed to work more
than 48 hours straight.
Such swapping is allowed, Large
said, because the department only
allows a certain number of people to be
off every day. If firefighters need time
away — for a family emergency, a child’s
school event, vacation, etc. — they find a
replacement.
Firefighters sign a form to report
these trades, and until July had to report
whether the swap was for cash. They
did not have to list how much cash was
paid.
When firefighter Schleissing, 51,
retired in March, he still owed his col-
leagues 664 hours in unpaid trades,
according to forms he filled out.
The U.S. Navy retiree, who had been
with the department since 1999, got his
colleagues to work 1,144 hours for him be-
tween2011and2013.Of
those61swaps,22were
reported as cash. The
most common recipi-
entwasfirefighterGerd
Schuch, who Schleiss-
ing paid cash 13 times
to work for him.
According to city re-
cords, Schuch worked
another 612 hours for
Schleissing without
cash compensation or
Schleissing repaying
the hours. Asked why
he would work the
hours without reciprocation, Schuch said:
“Maybe because I am a nice guy.”
Such disproportionate rates of
exchange prompt questions about
whether firefighters made more than
the 240 hours in cash swaps per year
the policy allowed or bartered in other
ways.
Intotal,Schuchworked120timesforhis
colleagues, the equivalent of almost nine
monthsofworkoverthattwo-yearperiod.
Of those, 56 were reported as cash.
Large said it is possible firefighters
are making off-the-books payments, but
he has no way to know.
“I wouldn’t know what you’d worked
out,” he said. “And I gotta believe if
someone’s upset about it they’re going
to be squawking and screaming.”
Schleissing, visited at his Riverview
home last month, declined to talk and
asked two reporters to leave his driveway.
• • •
Few outside the fire department know
much about shift swapping. Several City
Council members and city attorneys
were not aware of the policy until the
Times started looking into it.
Gary Cornwell, director of human
resources, also did not know of the pol-
icy.
After researching it, he said, “it’s con-
sidered a personal matter between the
firefighters.”
When asked about the retired fire-
fighters who owe hours, Cornwell said
no process exists for the city to recap-
ture the money.
Other Florida cities have tighter con-
trols.
Miami and Tampa’s fire departments
forbid cash trades. Miami firefight-
ers also can only owe eight shifts at one
time and will be docked pay if the hours
are not repaid within a year.
“We have a limit to maintain control,”
Miami Lt. Ignatius Carroll said.
The newspaper contacted more than
20St.Petersburgfirefighterswhologged
the most trades. Nearly all declined to
speak.
While standing in the doorway of a
Fire Station 8 near Lake Maggiore, fire-
fighter Chris Oliver questioned why the
Times would examine the exchange pol-
icy.
“We put our lives on the line every
day,” he said. “If we don’t have it, we’ll
just call in sick and cause overtime.”
Many of the most frequent trad-
ers have other jobs, like landscaping
and real estate, according to secondary
employment forms required to be filed
with the city.
Examples include:
•WillieMarshall,whooperatestheFire-
House Christian Center in Gibsonton
and another ministry in Tampa. Mar-
shall, 40, had the most unpaid hours of
active firefighters — 725. He never listed
a cash payment in 39 trades.
• Kordecki, 50, who owed his colleagues
424 hours as of March. Records show
Kordecki, who never dealt in cash, also
owns hydrantwear.com, which makes
clothing for firefighters. (The city does
not do direct business with him).
• Kapchinski, 38, who also works at
Bayfront, had colleagues cover 62 of her
shifts. She returned the favor 33 times,
but still owed 412 hours as of March.
Firefighters say they are just oper-
ating within a system set up by their
bosses.
Benjamin Lawson, 43, has been a fire-
fighter for five years. He and his family
own the Lawson Funeral Home & Cre-
mation Service on Central Avenue.
In the two-year period the newspaper
examined, Lawson missed the equiv-
alent of roughly three months of work.
He said he needed the time for personal
business and vacation. He paid fire-
fighter Chris Oliver in cash for many
of his 50 trades. He owed 228 hours for
swaps that weren’t for cash.
He acknowledged that when he pays
cash, the amount he gives his replace-
ment is likely less than his own earnings
for those hours. For example, he said
he’s paid colleagues $120 for 12 hours.
On hour-for-hour swaps, he said he
tries to pay the hours back but it doesn’t
always happen right away.
“It’s going to be throughout the year
when I can pay (the time) back,” he said.
“I never counted the hourly wages to
know if I’m benefiting from it.”
Firefighter Andrew Pepe, 43, a 22-
year veteran, asked colleagues to work
461 hours for him in the two-year period
and still owed 233 hours, according to
city records. He said he has paid most of
those back since March.
“I never do it for cash,” Pepe said. “I
only do it for the time.”
Not all firefighters have racked
up hundreds of unpaid hours. Many
showed nearly equal trades.
With so many firefighters trad-
ing shifts, City Council Chairman Karl
Nurse questioned whether the depart-
ment has lost control of scheduling.
“We’re at least allowing, perhaps
encouraging, dishonesty,” he said, adding
the practice needs further examination.
Council member Charlie Gerdes
wants answers from fire leaders.
“This is a mess,” he said. “There’s all
kinds of legal and regulatory implications
for the cash swaps that raise all kinds of
red flags. My head is just spinning with
all the possibilities this could raise.”
Council member Leslie Curran called
the practice “ridiculous.”
“It must be nice to work a second job
and have someone at your other job so
you’re still getting paid,” she said.
• • •
Large has known for years the policy
could cause problems.
While attending a state conference
almost four years ago, Large broached
the topic with then-Assistant Chief
JamesWimberlyandassistant cityattor-
ney Jeannine Williams.
“The question on paying for swap
time is a legal issue ... ,” Large wrote in
a January 2010 email. “There is a feeling
that what we do is an issue with (labor
laws) and IRS.”
Williams recommended eliminat-
ing cash trades. Wimberly pointed out
many cities require hours to be repaid
within six months.
“Most departments frown on
exchange for cash. I agree ... we need to
change our policy,” Wimberly wrote in
an email.
Large replied: “I would really like a
legal basis. There is a belief that this has
been ruled on.”
Williams and Wimberly tried to set up
a follow-up meeting the next month. It’s
unclear why, but a meeting never took
place. (Wimberly retired in 2011.)
On March 22, the Times requested
swap records. Days later, officials
revived discussions about the need to
change the policy, according to emails
later obtained by the Times.
Large, acting on Williams’ advice,
revised theguidelinesinJulytoomitany
reference to cash as a payment option.
“I did recommend they remove all ref-
erences to payback,” Williams said ear-
lier this month. “It was my opinion we
should stay out of it — completely.”
An IRS spokesperson said it would
be inappropriate to comment on the
city’s practice, but did say in general, it
is up to individuals to claim all income.
It’s unclear whether firefighters who
receive cash for working others’ shifts
report the income on their taxes.
City Attorney John Wolfe told the
Times he was uncomfortable with cash
exchanges.
“We shouldn’t be doing it,” he said. “I
have a problem with the tax issues.”
Duringseveralinterviewswithreport-
ers, Large said his priority is to staff fire
trucks for emergencies, not monitor
every shift trade.
“That’s between the two of them,” he
said. “It’s not my responsibility to police
whether a friend wants to work for
somebody or not.”
When asked why he sought to tighten
the policy in 2010, Large said it was not
because he suspected widespread abuse.
He said he was concerned with just one
firefighter: then-union president Will
Newton, whom Large suspected of list-
ing trades as hour-for-hour swaps when
they were in fact for cash.
“He was never here,” Large said. “I felt
there was abuse, but I couldn’t prove he
was not filling out the form properly.”
Large’s new policy, issued July 3, also
caps the number of hours firefighters
can trade to 480 hours per year. That’s
stillmorethantwicetheamountallowed
in Miami. Large said he did not consult
other cities’ policies or seek union input.
He picked 480 hours because it mirrors
the maximum amount of vacation fire-
fighters receive.
Despite the tweaks, Large said he
stands behind the practice.
Taxpayers shouldn’t be upset that
firefighters receive pay and benefits for
hours they don’t work, he said. The prac-
tice doesn’t cost citizens because the city
would be paying someone to be in the
firehouse anyway, he said, and swap-
ping doesn’t rack up overtime.
“They’repayingthatsalarywhen(fire-
fighters) take240 hours off for vacation,”
Large said. “Are they mad about that?”
That response didn’t satisfy Calabro,
from the watchdog group, who said he
wondered why administrators are keep-
ing a system out of step with modern
employment practices.
“Just because it’s been done for a long
time does not in any way mean it’s an
acceptable process,” Calabro said. “It’s
fraught with more problems than ben-
efits.”
In May, 13 Ohio firefighters were
indicted after city auditors discov-
ered some members of the Cleveland
Fire Department owed months or even
years of unpaid shifts.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury
accused them of theft in office and solic-
iting or receiving improper compensa-
tion.
While researching possible changes
to St. Petersburg’s policy, Williams said
she learned of other swapping scandals
around the country, including the one in
Ohio and another in Boston.
“It’s not the same here because we
don’t have the same state law,” Williams
said of the Ohio case. “My legal opinion
is it’s not a cost to the taxpayer.”
But Florida does have an “official mis-
conduct” law that makes it illegal for
public employees to falsify records and
documents. The statute also prohib-
its “a public servant with corrupt intent
to obtain a benefit for any person or to
cause harm to another.”
Williams said the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act does not require firefight-
ers to “pay” each other back. She said St.
Petersburg’s position is strengthened
by U.S. Department of Labor opinions
issued in 1993 and 2004 which held that
exchangeofdutyforpublicemployees—
firefighters and police officers included
— is allowed.
But just because employees can swap
shifts, doesn’t mean they do.
Police Chief Chuck Harmon said
he hadn’t looked at the department’s
exchange of duty policy for years. He
couldn’t remember a time when an offi-
cer used it.
“I would never envisionit taking place
in a police department,” Harmon said.
“It’s never been in our organizational
culture to swap.”
• • •
Firefighters here know the city’s pol-
icy is looser than most.
“We knew that ours was somewhat
different,” said Newton, the firefighter
Large thought was trading away too
much time. “It’s a pretty liberal process,
but it was still up to the department to
approve it.”
Newton, the brother of City Coun-
cil member Wengay Newton, has since
retired. He said his former boss is
deflecting blame.
“All of these absences have to be
approved. No one can just be AWOL,”
Newton said. “The city controls the sys-
tem. The city designed the paperwork.
The department needs to own this and
stop passing the buck around.”
Large declined to respond to New-
ton’s comments. He said no firefighter
has ever complained about time being
owed. He also said he knows of no one
taking massive amounts of time off.
He has no plans to ban cash swaps in
a written policy. The system will stay pri-
vate.
Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed
to this report. Contact Mark Puente at
mpuente@tampabay.com or (727) 893-
8459. Follow on Twitter @ markpuente.
Kameel Stanley can be reached at kstanley@
tampabay.com, (727) 893-8463 or @
cornandpotatoes on Twitter.
How the swaps work
St.PetersburgFire&Rescueallows
firefighterstotradeshifts.Until
recently,thedepartmentallowed
firefighterstopaycashorother
formsofpaymentstocoverthe
shifts.
Hereishowanhour-for-hour
tradeworks:
Onefirefighterfindsanotherto
coverallorpartofa24-hourshift.
Thefirefighteroriginallyscheduled
toworkstillreceivespayandben-
efitsasifheworked.Thatfirefighter
willthenpaythehoursbackwhen
thereplacementfirefighterneeds
timeoff.
Hereishowacashswapworks:
Onefirefighterfindsanotherto
coverallorpartofa24-hourshift.
Thefirefighterwhoisoriginally
scheduledtoworkstillreceivespay
andbenefitsasifheworked.That
firefighternegotiatesacashpay-
mentwithareplacementfirefighter
tocovertheshift.Theamountofthe
paymentisunknownbecausenei-
therfirefighterisrequiredtoreport
theamounttothecity.
Also,insteadofexchangingmoney,
itiscommonforfirefighterstotrade
servicesfrombusinessestheyown.
Tracking the hours
Thecitydoesnotkeeptrackofthehoursfirefighters“owe”toeachotherunderthe
swapsystem.Inordertoestimatehowmuchmoneytheseunpaidhoursrepresent,the
Timesdividedfirefighters’basesalariesbythenumberofhourstheyworkeachyear,
thenmultipliedthatbythehoursowed.
Hoursswapped
TheseSt.Petersburgfirefighters
tradedthemosthoursbetween
March2011andMarch2013.
Name Swaps Hours
William
Schleissing
61 1,144
Alisa
Kapchinski
62 856
MichaelLewis 46 766
Eddie
Rodriguez
45 740
ChrisLauricella 51 735
WillieMarshall 39 725
BenLawson 50 714
TroyReeves 43 696
TanyaPritchard 42 696
Adam
LePrevost
49 695
Hoursowed
TheseSt.Petersburgfirefightersowethemost
hoursfromtheswapprogrambetweenMarch
2011-March2013.
Name
Hours
owed
Base
salary
Value
ofhours
WillieMarshall 725 $60,646 $16,262
Adam
LePrevost
185 $69,197 $4,721
William
Schleissing
664 $58,641 $14,402
AnthonyFalls 175 $60,646 $3,925
AndrewPepe 233 $58,641 $5,054
Joseph
Standish
192 $58,641 $4,163
StevenWhite 227 $69,197 $5,809
Stanley
Kordecki
424 $69,197 $10,838
Alisa
Kapchinski
412 $69,197 $10,543
BenLawson 228 $58,641 $4,945
Source: St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue records
Firefighter
William
Schleissing
retired owing
colleagues
664 hours.
Above is the
original exchange-
of-duty form that
mentions cash
payments. At right
is the revised
version from
July 2013 that
eliminated the
option. It does not,
however, forbid
the practice.
City of St. Petersburg
James Wimberly was assistant fire chief when he sent this email to Chief Jim
Large regarding assistant city attorney Jeannine Williams’ recommendation
to eliminate any reference to cash swaps on exchange-of-duty forms.
From the front page>
tampabay.com for the latest news
. SWAPS continued from the front page
Firefighters’ swaps stun city leaders
CHERIE DIEZ | Times (2011)
About this story
WhentheTimesstartedlooking
intothisstoryinMarch,St.Peters-
burgFire&Rescuesaidithadno
waytocalculatehowmanyshift
tradesfirefightersweremakingor
whethertheywerebeingpaidback.
Thenewspaperthenrequested
every“ExchangeofOn-DutyTime
Request”submittedbetween
March2011andMarch2013.The
Timesreceived3,500formsand
enteredeachoneintoadatabaseto
analyzetheinformationandidentify
firefighterswhomadethemost
tradesandowedthemosthours.
Reporterssharedtheirfindingswith
cityofficialsandinterviewedtax
andlegalexperts.Reportersmet
withfireChiefJimLargethreetimes
overthecourseofthereporting
andreachedouttothefirefighters
withthemosttrades.Thefirefight-
ersquotedinthestoryspoketo
reportersduringoff-dutyinterviews
unlessotherwiseindicated.
St.
Petersburg
Fire Chief
Jim Large,
left, here
with Mayor
Bill Foster
in February
2011, says
he has no
plans to ban
cash swaps
between
firefighters.
The mayor
was surprised
to learn of the
policy from a
reporter.