American Hose temporarily suspended by Mount Carmel Borough Council
by justin strawser
MOUNT CARMEL - Mount Carmel Borough Council temporarily suspended all operations of American Hose and Chemical Fire Company at Thursday night's meeting.
"As a whole, we have unanimously decided to issue this suspension in an attempt to gain answers for council and the public in relation to the present financial problems (of American Hose)," said Mayor J. Kevin Jones after the vote.
Earlier this month, Thea Tafner, the former ambulance committee chairwoman of American Hose, pleaded guilty to felony charges of embezzling between $1 million and $2.5 million intended for the Mount Carmel organization between October 2000 and March 2010.
The council, explained President Tony Matulewicz, has been requesting the financial records of fire company since Tafner was federally indicted, but nothing
had been done by American Hose officers until 15 minutes before the meeting.
Matulewicz said neither he nor anyone else had a chance to review the two CDs of information and determine whether these were the records they were seeking.
"We want everything," said Matulewicz.
The suspension came in response to both Tafner's guilty plea and the lack of cooperation from American Hose officers, he said.
American Hose President James Reed, who was present prior to the meeting to be installed by the mayor as the first assistant chief of the Mount Carmel Volunteer Fire Department, did not attend the regular meeting.
All services, including the fire department and social hall, are suspended at least until a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the issues with American Hose officials. The doors will be locked.
American Hose is one of four fire companies the borough. While it will be closed down until further notice, there are three other fire companies available in case of emergency - West End, Anthracite Steam and Clover Hose.
At 7:50 p.m., the mayor called for an executive session. Fifty minutes later, when the council returned to the meeting chambers, Councilmen Robert Barrett and Clem Plisiewicz made and seconded the motion to suspend the department. It passed unanimously 6-0. Councilman Ronald Tanney was absent.
The council members declined further comment until the meeting Tuesday.
In other fire department business, the council appointed Anthracite Steam Chief Jack Williams Jr. as the overall chief of the borough fire departments.
The indictment against Tafner was filed Dec. 23 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Her Jan. 7 guilty plea in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson, Harrisburg, sets in motion a pre-sentence investigation. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a maximum term of supervised release of up to three years, to be determined by the court.
Suspicion of Tafner began in 2008 when Shamokin Area Community Hospital, which provided Advanced Life Support (ALS) to the American Hose Ambulance Company, pulled its services and filed a lawsuit against the company for lack of payment.
Although brought to the council's attention, the issue would continue for more than a year as the ambulance went through declining community support and two more failed partnerships, one with Hazleton-based Tech Transport and the other with Carlisle-based Special Event EMS (SEEMS), to provide ALS service.
In October 2009, Tafner was removed as chairperson five months prior to SEEMS pulling its service and effectively ending American Hose's long history as an ambulance service. The organization's firefighting services remain intact.
No one else is reportedly being charged or investigated, according to Matulewicz. When the office of the U.S. Attorney General was previously questioned, they offered no comment.
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