Despite Two Court Orders, MO Firefighter Still Waits for Pay, Reinstatement

For almost three years now, Cindy Schuenke has had a court order demanding that she be reinstated as a firefighter with the Community Fire Protection District in north St. Louis County. The order makes it clear the district is to give the Pacific woman, 52, back pay to Aug. 9, 2009, when the fire district’s board illegally fired her.

For more than a year now, she’s had an order from the Court of Appeals in Missouri’s Eastern District affirming that court order.

The court orders stem from a fire call on March 29, 2006, that changed Schuenke’s life forever. On that day, Schuenke did what firefighters do. She was on her hands and knees on the floor of a home on fire in Vinita Terrace, searching for the 76-year-old inhabitant of the home, Geneva Rooks.

The floor collapsed, sending Schuenke to the basement, where she was trapped under debris. She was badly burned, and shocked by a loose electrical wire. Eventually, she broke free and escaped. Rooks died in the fire.

As St. Louis tends to do when its first responders get hurt while protecting the rest of us, the community rallied. It held fundraisers and helped support Schuenke as she began an ordeal that has led to nearly 100 surgeries.

To this day, Schuenke runs into well-wishers who recognize her and have read about her difficulties.

“People come up to me and tell me they’re glad I won my case,” Schuenke told me recently in an interview at her attorney’s office.

Here’s what those folks need to know.

Schuenke still hasn’t been reinstated as a firefighter.

She hasn’t been paid the more than $700,000 in back pay due her, according to her attorney’s estimate.

The community backed her, but the Community Fire Protection District fought her every step of the way, and still is.

“Cindy knew she would be fighting her debilitating injuries for the rest of her life,” said her attorney, Lynette Petruska. “She didn’t know she would be fighting her department. The people who promised to take care of her are the ones who didn’t.”

These days, Schuenke gets by on workers compensation and Social Security disability payments while she waits for the fire district to follow through on the promises of her contract. To say she’s frustrated that her former employer continues to fight paying her even after two court orders understates her harsh reality.

“I struggle to pay my bills because they don’t want to pay me what they owe me,” Schuenke said. In the past couple of years, she’s had her electricity and water turned off at various times for nonpayment. Her house needs work. “My roof’s leaking,” she says. “My siding is falling off.”

How is this still happening?

The problem lies in the final step required to get Schuenke paid.

The courts ordered the fire protection district to hold a hearing to determine what she is owed. It’s not a simple calculation of adding up her past salaries, because some of the money she’s earned through workers compensation and disability payments has to be subtracted. But the fire district chose a hearing officer — who is supposed to sit in a quasi-judicial capacity — who has a connection to its attorney, Neil Bruntrager. The hearing officer chosen by the fire district was Howard Paperner, a lawyer who works as the prosecuting attorney and city attorney for the city of Winchester. The judge in Winchester is Dan Bruntrager, Neil’s brother and law partner.

Petruska says the situation raises questions of bias and prejudice against her client, and that has played out in how the hearing officer has handled basic motions. A year ago, she filed a motion seeking the documents from the fire district she’ll need to prove how much Schuenke is owed. The officer has yet to rule on that or several other motions from Petruska, including two of three she filed to disqualify him.

Meanwhile, he’s ruled quickly on several motions filed by fire district attorneys, including one to quash depositions of Bruntrager and other district officials sought by Petruska on behalf of her client.

“I need documents to prepare for hearing, and I can’t get them,” Petruska says. “That’s what happens when your friend gets appointed as a hearing officer.”

Bruntrager denies there is even “an appearance” of a conflict. He suggests Petruska misunderstands the role of the hearing officer and blames her for delays. Further, he disputes that the district owes Schuenke any money because of the pay she’s received from other sources.

“If we owe her money, we will happily pay,” Bruntrager said. “But I don’t think we will.”

After failing to respond to Petruska for more than a year, Paperner recused himself recently for health reasons. Now the attorney for Schuenke has hope the process will become more professional. Former St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jack Garvey has been appointed as the new officer.

“All Cindy wants is a fair hearing,” Petruska says. “They’ve spent more than $140,000 trying not to pay her.”

Tony Messenger • 314-340-8518

@tonymess on Twitter

[email protected]

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