Tony Brown, who was a lieutenant in the Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department, said he felt vindicated by Tuesday's 124-page special grand jury presentment.

"Everything in the report I've been talking about for two years prior to the grand jury being seated," he said.

He isn't the only one.

Several former and current city employees said the long-awaited presentment confirmed what they had known all along.

Mr. Brown's firing was cited in the report as an example of the "inconsistent and arbitrary" discipline within the fire department. Two other lieutenants were accused of making similar threats but were not dismissed.

The report said an unnamed lieutenant threatened to kill Deputy Chief Mike Rogers in 1998. The lieutenant, who had a history of criminal activity, was never investigated, nor was he punished by the department, the report stated.

Similar allegations led to Mr. Brown's arrest about a month after he complained that raises were being given to Chief Few's supporters in the department. He was charged with making terroristic threats against members of the fire administration and dismissed.

A search of computer files later revealed that "a letter was found dated one month before the alleged threats," the report stated: "This letter terminated Lt. Brown for 'demonizing' his superiors."

Prosecutors ultimately dismissed the criminal charges.

Grand jurors said the letter cast suspicion on the motives of the fire administration in dealings with Mr. Brown.

"I was set up, and now I can prove it," he said.

Pam Tucker, a former director of the Richmond County Emergency Management Agency, said she wasn't surprised by the presentment, either.

"I tried to tell people, but it was a futile effort," she said. She is now director of the Columbia County Emergency Management Division.

The presentment describes the functions of various city departments and the need for cooperation. The grand jurors state that "stonewalling and obfuscation (of the Fire Department) were the norm when dealing with fellow department heads."

The report stated that Chief Few - who held that job from early 1997 to late 2000 - instructed his department to limit the information it gave to the Richmond County Emergency Management Agency and not to allow the EMA to take charge at a scene or have any authority.

Ms. Tucker said she went to Augusta Mayor Bob Young and then-City Administrator Randy Oliver about Chief Few's lack of cooperation with her department on more than one occasion.

As her working relationship with Chief Few grew more turbulent, she said, she decided to leave Richmond County after 21 years of service.

"After a while, you realize that if you're not going to get any help then it's time to move on," she said.

ADMINISTRATIVE Assistant Lea Bell was labeled a "traitor" and forced to move out of the fire administration offices after she warned Chief Few about the misuse of tax money on conventions and ceremonies.

"They really did me a favor," Ms. Bell said. "He didn't listen to me. I was just trying to make sure he didn't get in trouble. I didn't want to get in trouble."

The city's finance department expressed concerns about the fire department's spending during Chief Few's tenure.

"Historically, the fire department did not have a lot of extra funds available for the types of expenditures that we saw Chief Few request," said Donna Williams, the assistant finance director.

When accountants questioned expenses, though, their concerns were met with a lack of interest, she said.

"We were repeatedly told that it was OK, that it was under Chief Few's discretion as head of that department and to do whatever it was that we were questioning," Ms. Williams said.

The report details Chief Few's extravagant and unauthorized expenditures on his annual media awards banquet and fire chiefs' conferences, the last of which ended with the department $23,286 in the hole.

FIRE CAPT. LINDA McDonald later filed a lawsuit against Chief Few and his public information officer, Katrice Bryant, contending they harmed her professional and personal reputation when they tried to blame her for the debt for promotional items ordered for the 2000 Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs conference.

Telephone messages left with Capt. McDonald, who is still with the department, were not returned.

According to the report, the idea of selling souvenirs to make extra money came from Ms. Bryant. She and Chief Few decided on the quantities to be ordered. At the convention, Capt. McDonald was placed in charge of the souvenir booth and soon began to notice that merchandise was missing.

"People in position, such as the wife of Chief Few, would come down to the booth and get stacks of items to give away and told volunteers not to worry about payment," the grand jury report stated. "Then some of Chief Few's friends from Atlanta sent word down, requesting items, and people manning the booth were again told not to worry about payment."

When the convention ended, little had been sold and much had been given away. When the mayor asked for an accounting, Ms. Bryant said that she, Chief Few and the co-treasurer had no knowledge of or input into the ordering of the merchandise and its cost. She said she did not know that Capt. McDonald had spent so much money and had never seen any invoices, the report stated.

The city eventually paid half of the $18,000 bill.

Human Resources Director Brenda Byrd-Pelaez said the findings confirmed controversies she saw from the start of Chief Few's tenure, beginning with thousands of dollars in moving expenses that neither she nor city accountants could confirm were legitimate.

In June 2000, Chief Few admitted to grand jurors that a receipt he had submitted for $6,530 in moving expenses had been manufactured and signed by his wife.

Saying she would "really rather not comment" in depth on her experiences with Chief Few, Ms. Byrd-Pelaez did say the special grand jury's findings confirmed what she already knew.

"(I once said,) how come when I'm getting kicked, no one ever comes to my rescue? And the response was, 'Because you're always doing the kicking,"' she said.

Reach Ashlee Griggs, Sylvia Cooper and Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 724-0851.