5 punished for fire station hi-jinks

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A fire captain is fired, and four others are suspended after snapping pictures of strippers.
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer
Published February 3, 2005

TAMPA - The call came in December from a man claiming to be an angry father.

His son was playing basketball with friends in October, he said, when they saw flashing lights coming from a nearby Tampa fire station.

He said the bay doors were closed, but the boys peeked in on a scene that had nothing to do with fighting fires - a woman wearing high heels, red lipstick and nothing else, clinging to a shiny Tampa Fire Rescue engine as men snapped pictures.

The caller never left his name. And no one ever confirmed his story.

But his call sparked a fire of its own: A six-week investigation by city officials and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that involved lies and attempted coverups, career threats and promises to pay for another's silence.

At the center of the storm is Al Suarez, 44, a fire captain who officials say organized a photo shoot involving two strippers at a North Tampa fire station. Suarez, a longtime city employee, is former head of the firefighters' union and a friend and vocal supporter of Mayor Pam Iorio.

But none of that saved him Wednesday, when he was fired 10 days before his 20th anniversary with the department. Four other firefighters were suspended without pay for two to four weeks.

Their bosses were left to clean up the mess.
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