(New York- WABC, October 27, 2005) - We have an update on an Eyewitness News exclusive on a New York City firefighter who had been AWOL from his job for months. The Investigators discovered he was off starting his own company while being paid by the FDNY. There are now disciplinary charges.
The bottom line here is that the AWOL firefighter now has plenty of time to start his own business.
Disciplinary action was taken after our investigation forced the no-show firefighter to resign.
Hoffer: "You are under investigation and apparently charges are pending from the fire department. Do you have any comment on that?"
Wayne Ludewig: "No I can't comment on that now."
When we met up with Wayne Ludewig four months ago, he must have known his days as a New York City firefighter were running out.
Today, he's no longer a member of the FDNY -- forced to retire after scamming the department out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Eric Rudd, former business partner: "It's kind of strange that somebody's not showing up for work that amount of time and that he's still getting a paycheck."
Our investigation first revealed how firefighter Ludewig assigned to a desk job because of a shoulder injury, failed to show up for work at FDNY headquarters for nearly a year.
Instead, Ludewig was off drumming up sales of rescue equipment as vice president of Tri-Industries, a $2-million dollar a year business. All the while, the injured Ludewig was receiving a paycheck from the fire department.
Rudd: "He was my vice president."
Hoffer: "How many hours a day here?"
Rudd: "Eight to 10 hours a day everyday, 5 days a week."
Since our investigation aired, Ludewig has been forced to pay back the city more than $37 thousand dollars for being AWOL 188 work days.
He's admitted to four charges of conduct unbecoming the department. Yet despite disgracing the FDNY, they allowed him to retire with a disability pay of 75 percent of his annual salary for the rest of his life.
His former business partner who thought Ludewig was a retired firefighter when they started their business says the department was far too lenient.
Rudd: "Taking money that's not yours or frauding the system, getting away easy."
Hoffer: "You think he's gotten off easy?"
Rudd: "Yeah, payback money you took and move on. Not a bad deal."
Ludewig: "We will sit down and talk, I promise you that."
When our investigation first aired, Ludewig promised to tell his side of things. We revisited him recently to give him that chance:
Hoffer: "But why not give your side of the story, I'm giving you a chance to tell your side."
Ludewig: "You're not credible, Jim, you're not credible."
While Ludewig was forced to resign because of the AWOL charges, he was able to get a disability pension because he was able to prove to a medical review board that his shoulder injury was work related.
If you have a tip about this or any other investigative story, give our tip line a call at 877-tip-news.
(Copyright 2005 WABC-TV)
