California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Firefighter Guilty of ‘Ethnic Fraud’

A San Francisco Fire Department probe has upheld charges that an Italian-American captain falsely claimed to be Latino in order to get promoted. An internal investigation confirmed accusations that Capt. Thomas Santoro, committed “ethnic fraud” by switching his ethnic designation from Caucasian to Latino in 1979, the San Francisco Examiner reported. Fire officials have said that if found guilty of the charges before the Fire Commission, Santoro could be demoted and face other discipline. Santoro, a 23-year veteran, has been serving as an acting battalion chief for more than a year. Santoro said he had not been informed of the findings and said he had no comment except that he was considering a lawsuit. The case began in October when a fellow firefighter, Capt. Pete Roybal, said he overheard a conversation in a fire station bathroom about how Santoro had changed his ethnic classification to get promoted under affirmative-action regulations.