A labor leader for Los Angeles firefighters came under scrutiny for allegedly buying union cars with discounts — and then reported lower sales prices to the state to avoid taxes, two people familiar with the deal told The Times.
Domingo Albarran Jr., Little Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Domingo Albarran Jr.
Sources said the upcoming UFLAC treasurer noticed the difference and asked Albaran to return the vehicle to the union. Sources said the new treasurer also found that Albarran had already swelled the vehicle’s mileage when he obtained an estimate from the Kelley Blue Book. A Kelly Blue Book spokesman said that at the time of sale, Malibu could be worth more than $10,000 in 2017.
Albarran, who has since retired, admitted that he didn’t want to pay taxes because he didn’t want to pay taxes and said he misunderstood the odometer and misunderstood the wrong odometer when obtaining Kelly’s Blue Book estimates. But he said the car was in poor condition and required major repairs and was worth no more than twice as much as he paid for.
“I don’t want to pay a lot of tax on Lemon’s vehicles, but I have 100% of the tax anyway,” he said, adding that the price he paid was fair, as the vehicle required up to $2,000 in repairs.
City wage records show that Albaran made more than $370,000 in salary and benefits before retirement in 2023. This includes overtime pay of $189,339.
The episode comes with the allegations faced by another former Labour official that he engages in financial misconduct involving union charities targeting injured firefighters and their families, including the use of $5,000 for personal expenses. Adam Walker, a former UFLAC secretary who is still working for LAFD, told The Times that the allegations were wrong.
International Association. The Times recorded in the Internal IAFF Records reviewed in The Times, firefighters suspended Walker from his union leadership position and accused him of putting about $75,000 of the charity’s funds from December 2022 to January 2024.
Walker said in an interview that the deposits were reimbursed for his legal out-of-pocket expenses, which raised funds for former firefighters with disabilities. He said that deposit accounts were set up for the tournament rather than the charity UFLAC Fire Foundation.
“No cent of this money is the foundation’s money,” he said.
The UFLAC treasurer who found problems with Albarran’s car purchases reported it to the International Association. Two sources familiar with the situation say UFLAC’s parent company and other parent organizations of local fire workers’ unions are firefighters. One of the sources said the IAFF is conducting extensive inspections on UFLAC’s financial situation, including officials’ use of union credit cards.
UFLAC President Freddy Escobar declined to comment on Albarran’s allegations, nor did he answer the Times’ written questions about the IAFF financial comment.
UFLAC is a political force in Los Angeles, and elected officials value their recognition and financial contributions to the campaign.
Escobar and other UFLAC leaders criticized Mayor Karen Bass for firing Kristin Crowley, the head of Lafd last month. Bass said Crowley failed to prepare for the January 7 fire that destroyed pieces of Palisades in the Pacific and killed 12 people. On Tuesday, the city council voted 13-2 to deny Crowley’s appeal for her shooting.
Albarran’s case dates back to 2022, when he proposed to buy the Malibu sedan he had driven for years while executing his union duties. Two sources said that if an officer drives more than a certain number of miles a year, a work vehicle is usually allocated because it is cheaper than paying it back.
Sources said he charged the union credit card about $1,500 for mechanical work and improvement of the car before Albarran’s purchase ended, including installing two new tires and flushing its transmission.
Albarran told The Times in an interview that these fees are routine maintenance and security upgrades.
“Whether I’m going to buy it or the union wants to keep it, that needs to be done,” Albaran said, adding that the steel belt was exposed to the tires. “Should I drive in the vehicle with unsafe tires? They’re worn [the car] Belongs to the alliance. ”
Albaran was also accused by the incoming treasurer of using union credit cards to purchase natural gas for private vehicles, sources said. Sources said the surveillance video of the incoming treasurer’s surveillance video was an uneasy private car refueling at a gas station after finding that the amount of natural gas purchased exceeded the receipt of about 13 gallons in the Malib tank.
Albarran said in an interview that he had filled out 10 times in four years using a Union Credit Card, and only when Malibu was in the store, he said he had not kept any maintenance records. He said he would drive to work more miles.
“Just pay for fuel, the union is cheap,” he said.
Albaran reported to the joint committee that there were 175,000 miles on Malibu, which put the car’s Kelly Blue Book deal valued at $4,072 to $5,821, an average of $4,947, two sources said. Estimates based on transaction estimates are usually lower than those estimated for private party sales.
According to a copy of the documents obtained by the Times, Escobar and six other union committee members signed the Kelly Blue Book deal estimate with the higher mileage.
Albaran reported to DMV that the actual mileage of the car is 145,779. Kelley Blue Book said the 2017 Malibu will be between $8,855 and $11,422, or the average is $10,139 when sold. According to DMV, the union bought a new 2017 car for more than $30,000.
Albaran said he thought $4,000 was a reasonable price due to the condition of the car, and when he was asked, he quickly sent Malibu back to the union – returning his $4,000.
