Orland Firefighter Could Be Sentenced Today

The two-and-a-half year saga involving former Orland Fire Protection District firefighter Larry Masa, accused of collecting a paycheck and faking military leave to work for a private contractor overseas, could wrap up Wednesday.

Masa, 44, of Morris, is due in Cook County court to face theft, forgery and official misconduct charges. Prosecutors allege Masa bilked the district out of nearly $200,000 in wages and benefits, plus another $50,000 in overtime fees firefighters earned to cover his shifts.

Prosecutors and Masa defense lawyers are slated to meet behind closed doors Wednesday, after which Masa could plead guilty and be sentenced, assistant State's Attorney Dianne Ghaster said. Masa's attorney, Michael Krejci, said he would not comment on whether his client would plead guilty. An updated pre-sentence investigation report is due Wednesday, Krejci said.

Masa, a father of two, enlisted in the Army in 1982 and was discharged honorably in 1988, prosecutors have said. He hasn't served since. But five times from March 2003 to April 2006 Masa told his fire district bosses that the U.S. Defense Department called him to active duty, even forging documents about his return to the military, prosecutors have said.

Steven Slawinski, 40, of Romeoville, a former Lemont firefighter, also is accused of drawing salary and benefits and faking military leave to work for the same contractor as Masa. That case is pending, though within two weeks of being charged in January 2007 Slawinski resigned and paid the Lemont Fire Protection District $27,000 he earned while allegedly overseas.

Masa is involved in a civil court case, too. Orland wants Masa to reimburse the nearly $200,000 he received while working overseas. The lawsuit is pending. A phone number to Masa's home was disconnected and he did not return a message left on his cell phone. In a 2007 interview with the Daily Southtown, Masa said he was doing "Jason Bourne type of s---," referring to the fictional Hollywood covert operative. Masa claimed he really was in an elite U.S. military unit hunting Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, he just didn't work for the federal government. He worked for USIS, an independent military contractor, and submitted fake deployment papers to his bosses to create a cover story, Masa said. He also said the fire district did not pay him in 2003 or 2004 and that in 2006 he received only $47,000. Not much of Masa's lengthy interview could be verified because he refused to provide documentation or contacts who could have vouched for his whereabouts. The Masa incident was a black eye for the Orland Fire Protection District and provoked some political infighting. Fire Chief Bryant Krizik said the incident even spawned some policy changes. The district now outsources background checks to a professional investigation company. Documents for any current employee who claims to be serving in the military as well as any certificates and licenses have been verified, and all new employees have an outsourced background check too, Krizik said. "I think in the past we've ... trusted our people," the chief said. "When someone hands you a document and says this is a military order and it looks like it had the proper signatures and things like that, we took that at face value. Obviously we learned a lesson ... that you can't always trust that."