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Report: Orlando deputy fire chief misappropriated funds

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 1,000-page report from the Orlando Police Department claims the city’s deputy fire chief misappropriated overtime funds.

The police investigation started in May after a whistleblower claimed off-duty firefighters were paid cash for their work.

There was little or no documentation of who got paid, what they were paid and what happened to money left over.

According to documents, Deputy Fire Chief Chad Williamson headed up the overtime worked on the Orlando Calling event Nov. 11-13, 2011.

The investigation found the fire department was paid $44,910, but the roster said the 55 firefighters were paid a total of $41,650.

Williamson said he paid several dispatchers with some of the remaining amount, but the investigation still found that $2,210 was unaccounted for.

Since it was only an internal investigation, no charges were filed.

WFTV asked police if they were looking at criminal charges and asked the State Attorney's Office if it would review the report, but neither responded.

The investigation determined an audit could not be done because spreadsheets and final rosters were discarded or destroyed.

Williamson retired from Orlando Fire this week.