Former Con Fire battalion chief faces 12 felony charges for payroll fraud

A former Contra Costa County Fire Protection District battalion chief has been charged with 12 felonies for allegedly giving himself extra vacation days and overtime by falsifying payroll records.

Louis Manzo Jr. of Danville could face nine years in prison if convicted of the 12 counts.

Prosecutors said that Manzo falsified records in two ways. In one, he would take vacation days but then record that he was on an outside assignment and list events that he did not attend.

He also claimed overtime for the out of office events he said he attended. Investigators reviewed GPS logs for those days and determined he wasn’t at the events or even near the event locations.

Deputy District Attorney Dodie Katague said in a statement:

“Manzo took advantage of his knowledge of Con Fire’s internal system to fraudulently misrepresent his hours and time off requests.” 

Prosecutors estimated that Manzo cost Con Fire $46,000 in salary and $19,000 covering shifts when he was out of the office while claiming to be on special assignment.