Former Con Fire Battalion Chief Charged With 12 Felonies: DA

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — A former Con Fire battalion chief has been charged with 12 felonies in connection with allegations that he falsified payroll records and misappropriated taxpayer monies during his time with the agency, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

If convicted on all charges, Louis "Lou" Manzo Jr., 53, of Danville, faces up to nine years in state prison and forfeiture of part of his pension, according to a news release from the DA's office.

The investigation of Manzo began earlier this year after Con Fire contacted the DA's office about the suspected illegal activity, said Scott Alonso, spokesman for the DA's Office.

Prosecutors allege that between December 2014 and January 2019, Manzo would take vacation days but then later change his timecard to claim special pay for an extra assignment outside of his normal course of duties.

Prosecutors further allege Manzo listed events for his special assignment that he did not attend or that did not happen on the days he said they did. Then, allegedly to ensure his bank of vacation hours remained unaffected in relation to his pension, Manzo would go back and not claim vacation time, the DA's office said.

Manzo also claimed overtime pay for out-of-office work events he said he attended, prosecutors said. A review was conducted of GPS logs on his work vehicle, which found Manzo did not attend the events or was never near the event location, the DA's office said.

"Public employees must always be held to a higher standard as stewards of taxpayer dollars. Further, employees in positions of trust and management must conduct themselves in an honorable manner," said Deputy District Attorney Dodie Katague, lead prosecutor on the case.

"Manzo took advantage of his knowledge of Con Fire's internal system to fraudulently misrepresent his hours and time-off requests, in two separate fraud schemes," Katague said.

In total, the loss to Con Fire was $46,000 in direct-salary payments and $19,000 in costs incurred for covering Manzo's shifts while he was out of the office or claiming to be on special assignment, prosecutors said.

Longtime Con Fire Employee

Manzo was employed by Con Fire for nearly three decades — 28 years and 10 months — most recently as a battalion chief for Battalion One, which serves Pleasant Hill, Lafayette and Walnut Creek, according to Con Fire Spokesman Steve Hill.

It was December 2018 when Con Fire leadership became aware of suspected timekeeping irregularities related to Manzo.

"He was immediately placed on administrative leave and a full internal investigation was ordered and conducted," Hill said Friday in an email to Patch. "When results of that investigation revealed apparent misconduct, its results were immediately handed over to the County District Attorney for criminal investigation."

According to Hill, Con Fire was notified by the Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association in March that Manzo had applied for retirement. CCCERA processed his application for retirement, and effective March 12, 2019, Manzo was no longer an employee of the fire district, Hill said.

Con Fire Chief Lewis Broschard III provided the below statement regarding the allegations against Manzo:

"Immediately after discovering timekeeping irregularities, District leadership moved swiftly to order an internal investigation, which indicated the allegations involving Lou Manzo were limited to one individual and did not involve the public, other employees, or affect our services provided to the public.

"As public servants, we rightfully hold ourselves to the highest standards of conduct, and the public expects no less. This isolated incident is not a reflection on the professionalism and conduct of all those serving in our organization who uphold the values of our agency and service to the public on a daily basis."

Manzo is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Monday in Martinez.

If found guilty, Manzo's pension will need to be recalculated without the fraudulent vacation days, according to the DA's Office.

— Danville Patch editor Toni McAllister contributed to this report.