Firefighter's NiteFlirts Phone Sex Found in Audit: Report

Oak Lawn village officials are pressing forward in their investigation that a firefighter/paramedic may have called phone sex lines while on duty.

A partial audit of the Oak Lawn Professional Firefighter Union’s books reveal 33 unsupported charges on two bank accounts belonging to Local 3405.

The documents are included in the village’s response to an emergency restraining order that was filed in court last week by Oak Lawn firefighter/paramedic Robert Lanz.

• Also on Patch: Oak Lawn Firefighter Under Probe for On-Duty Phone Sex

Lanz filed the petition when he was asked to produce his personal cell and credit card records to determine if some of the charges had been made when he was on duty.

His emergency restraining order was rejected by a Cook County Circuit Court judge.

The village claims that it learned in June that a complaint had been made to Oak Lawn police by another firefighter when discrepancies were found in the union books. According to the court documents filed by the village, officials say they had no reason at the time to suspect that any misuse of funds involved on-duty sexual misconduct.

The matter was turned over to the Cook County Sheriff to investigate if a crime had occurred.

The 33 transactions were made between January 2010 and December 2014, when Lanz held various executive board positions, including treasurer, for Local 3405. The bank statements were included in a public accounting firm’s report which was contracted by the union to examine its books for possible misappropriated funds.

The CPA’s report reveals $11,032.79 in unsupported charges. While some of the questionable expenditures were for local burrito joints, an eye care chain store and a men’s clothier, many of the charges were to NF Services and UNI Information Inc.

When the Cook County Sheriff’s Office concluded its investigation without filing criminal charges, the accounting firm’s report was turned over to the village.

Oak Lawn Village Manager Larry Deetjen claims in a deposition that he was able to ascertain that charges to “NF Services” and UNI Information Inc. were adult entertainment companies that provided phone sex services.

Lanz was issued a “notice of interrogation” for a disciplinary hearing after Oak Lawn Fire Chief George Sheets indicated in a deposition he was able to determine that Lanz was on duty when some of the phone sex transactions occurred.

Sheets maintains that he asked Lanz to produce his cell phone records and credit card stations to “identify how frequently [Lanz] may have engaged in phone sex while he was on duty as an Oak Lawn firefighter.”

The fire chief also said in his deposition that paramedics often treat Oak Lawn citizens when they are not fully clothed and come into physical contact with patients, often of the opposite sex.

“In this light, the allegation that the plaintiff [Lanz] could not control his sexual urges while on duty caused me particularly grave concerns.”

NF Services, also known as “NiteFlirt,” advertises live phone sex with men, women and couples, including “thousands of custom made pictures, videos, clips and other goodies featuring all your favorite flirts.”

In addition to phone sex, customers can also indulge their fantasies in “phone cam sex.” Services are “discreetly billed as ‘NF Services’” on customer’s credit cards.

UNI Information Inc. is a similar adult entertainment company, the documents maintain.

The accounting firm’s report details 20 transactions made to “NF Services,” from 2011 to 2014, ranging from $20 to $400. Eight of the NiteFlirt calls were in the hundred dollar range, including $195, $100, $201, $100, $400, $240, $150 and $306.

Thirteen calls were placed to UNI Information Inc. between August 2012 and September 2014, including one transaction for $1,000, according to the report.

The village maintains that it is especially sensitive to allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment. In 2009, an $850,000 court settlement was paid to a female firefighter who had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the village after it was alleged that a male firefighter had ejaculated on her bed sheets while on duty at the firehouse.

“Despite the village’s best efforts the firefighter responsible for that egregious act has never been identified,” the court document reads.