Feds seek firefighters union's records

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Published Monday February 23, 2009
Feds seek firefighters union's records
BY MAGGIE O'BRIEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Acting on a complaint, federal officials visited the Omaha Firefighters Union hall last week asking to look at 10 years of financial records.

In what is being viewed as an unusual step, representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor went to the union office at 60th and Grover Streets on Friday morning.

Not even union officials were told what the complaint was about other than that the labor representatives were there to meet with Darren Bates, the former union president who has been accused of soliciting a prostitute.

Bates, who disputes the accusation and maintains his innocence, said Sunday that he didn't file the complaint with the Labor Department.

But he said he was at the union office when the federal investigators arrived and that they asked to look at union financial records going back 10 years.

John Corrigan, the union's attorney, said the federal investigators spoke to union representatives and left without taking any financial records or other documents with them.

FULL story at link.