Follow us
Lathrop Fire District's Dirty Laundry Aired
The San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury recently released a damning report involving the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District and former Fire Chief Gene Neely. As reported by the Stockton Record, the grand jury investigation stemmed from complaints following a now infamous staff retreat in Napa (read article here).
According to a November 2021 Manteca Bulletin article, “The organization that reimbursed the expenses – which totaled more than $25,000 and included massages, dinner with alcoholic beverages, and personal care items for sale at the resort – was the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee” (read article here). The expenses including multiple massages and alcohol for the District’s attorney, Neumiller & Beardslee attorney Lisa Blanco Jimenez, who grew up in Tracy. Ironically, part of the so-called training involved ethical issues.
Following the Napa debauchery, several staff members who attempted to complain about the retreat to the Fire District Board of Directors were met with harassment and intimidation by Fire Chief Neely and other managers. The grand jury even uncovered that several staff were denied pay raises until they signed non-disclosure agreements about the retreat. Neely resigned his post in April of 2021, following the District finally hired two independent investigators to investigate several of the complaints.
- The grand jury report (read the report here) details even more alarming information about Neely and his management team including:
- Members of the firefighting and administrative staff reported they felt intimidated, threatened, or harassed to the point of taking medical stress leave, while some resigned their positions.
- There is at least one legal action filed (Superior Court of California−Case #STK-CVUCP-2021-0009068) involving the District which cites multiple occurrences of intimidation and harassment.
- The San Joaquin County LAFCo sent a letter to the LMFD Board of Directors on January 29, 2019. Members of the LAFCo executive team wrote that they felt they were being harassed and intimidated by two LMFD chiefs while at the San Joaquin County Administration Building.
- Employees also expressed concerns related to nepotism existing in the District where family members were hired for key positions or given preferential treatment…There have also been allegations of cronyism where preferential treatment or promotions were given to employees who were favored by the Chief.
What is perhaps even of greater concern from the grand jury report the incompetency and ineffectiveness of the Fire District Board of Directors, whose sole purpose is to prevent the toxic work environment created by Neely and others. Let this be a warning to Tracy!
At the end of the day, Neely felt he could do whatever he wanted, to whomever he wanted. Case in point, after Lathrop City Council member Minnie Diallo voted against appointing Neely to a committee, Diallo claims that Neely and his wife accosted her after the meeting. According to Diallo, Neely “verbally threatened” her (read the article here.) The interaction was so troubling to Ms. Diallo that she filed a restraining order against Neely and his wife Rozelle with the San Joaquin County Superior Court. The judge issued the restraining order on October 25th.
As a reminder, Neely resigned in disgrace in April and several months later he is allegedly accosting a female city council member.
Diallo ultimately withdrew her request in December because Neely indicated he was moving out of Lathrop.
This Fire District operated outside of the public eye and with little or no supervision by elected officials who answer to the public. We need to be vigilant and make sure this doesn’t happen in Tracy.
Lathrop City Councilwoman Minnie Diallo