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Tampa uncuffed

Fired captain may give up on grievance

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published March 17, 2005

Al Suarez, his rising career derailed by the recent scandal of a nude firehouse photo shoot involving two strippers, has until Friday to appeal the recent denial of his grievance seeking his job back as a captain at Tampa Fire Rescue.

But Fire Rescue officials so far have received no word that Suarez, a 20-year veteran of the department until he was fired last month, will pursue the grievance.

Suarez's attorney Bob McKee did not return phone calls Wednesday, and Suarez could not be reached. Could Suarez be giving up the fight?

If so, it's something critics said he should have done weeks ago - when Mayor Pam Iorio and fire Chief Dennis Jones did him a financial favor by letting him use several vacation days to reach the 20-year mark needed for his full pension benefits (about $44,250 a year).

Meanwhile, the State Attorney's Office has not been asked to look into whether Suarez did anything illegal in connection with the Oct. 17 photo shoot, said spokeswoman Pam Bondi.

A recently released interview between a Tampa police detective and one of the strippers and her fiance makes it look as though Suarez used his position to get the favor of strippers for his Nov. 4 bachelor party.

Suarez ended up paying for the two strippers, according to one stripper's fiance, Richard Busino.

But Busino said he told Suarez he wouldn't even consider sending strippers to the party unless Suarez arranged for Busino and the scantily clad women to take fire station photos. Busino wanted to use them as a backdrop for the adult Internet site he and fiancee Heather Renee Swafford run from their Lutz home.

So was Suarez using his position to get a favor, in a case of quid pro quo misconduct by a public employee? Looks like the courts won't weigh in.

But here's something to consider. If Suarez were charged with such a crime and were convicted or pleaded no contest, he could lose his pension under state rules.

Police Lt. Marc Hamlin, chairman of the city's police and fire pension board, said public employees who are found to have been involved in bribery or any misconduct "under the color of their authority" have to forfeit their pensions.

POLICE PUNCH LINE: It has been more than two months since Tampa police Chief Steve Hogue, on his way from home in New Tampa to his office downtown, ran his department-issued 1999 Crown Victoria into the back of a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta and set off a bumper-to-bumper chain reaction with two other cars.

Hogue was cited for following too closely, and he sheepishly admitted he was to blame in the early-morning crash at the Interstate 75 onramp at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

But the folks at the Tiger Bay Club of Tampa couldn't let him get away from last Friday's appearance at their luncheon without ribbing him about his driving habits.

Introducing Hogue to the small crowd at the Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel, membership chairman Steve LaBour said Hogue in his spare time enjoys golf.

"Based on newspaper accounts, he's a better driver on the golf course than on the roads," LaBour teased.

Contact Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 17, 2005, 01:06:18]