13 Investigates broke news of a cheating
scandal inside the Muncie Fire Department.
Tonight, the firefighter at the
center of that controversy is
fighting to save his career.
And tonight, for the first time,
you're going to hear his side of the story.
Our senior investigative reporter Bob
Siegel explains how this longtime fire
captain is defending himself and how much
taxpayers are paying for him not to work.
Investigators say a cheating scandal
that's shaken the Muncie Fire Department
centered around one man,
19 year veteran Troy Delaney.
This investigation report from
the Indiana Department of Homeland
Security claims Delaney used his
leadership position to repeatedly
facilitate cheating on EMT and
FIRE exams from 2018 to 2023,
pressuring students to report back
to him with their test questions and
then sending those questions to other
students before they took their exams.
Several current and former members
of the Muncie Fire Department told 13
Investigates about the scheme. Have
you personally seen this cheating happen?
After investigations by 13 News and
the Department of Homeland Security,
this state firefighting board and
Indiana's EMT director revoked all of
Delaney's professional certifications,
meaning he can no longer serve as
a firefighter or EMT in Indiana.
But Delaney is appealing those revocations,
and 13 Investigates has obtained his appeals.
They say the state's investigation into
the alleged cheating scheme was haphazard,
reckless, irresponsible, inconsistent,
biased and founded in preconceived
notions of guilt.
Delaney also claims at no point in the
investigation was I ever permitted to
know the specific allegations against me,
nor was I permitted to see the
socalled evidence.
What
is Mr. Delaney asking for?
He wants to get back to work.
Chris Jeter is Delaney's attorney.
The whole thing just doesn't feel right.
And and we're going to get to
the bottom of it and we're
going to get our day in court.
Jeter and his client both say the
Department of Homeland Security has
not yet provided them any of the
evidence that led state regulators to
strip Delaney of his certifications.
But that evidence was laid out
during a long public hearing
before the firefighting board,
a hearing Troy Delaney chose not to attend.
State investigators say the evidence
includes pages of questions as well
as photos and texts that allegedly
show the captain distributed
test questions and answers,
interviews with students who said
they received test materials from
the fire Captain before their exam,
and a text that a student said
came directly from Delaney.
Warning Do not tell anyone I shared with you.
Did
none of those things happen?
I don't know, because I
haven't seen any of that stuff.
But you've had a chance
to talk with your client.
Does he claim that none of this happened?
He claimed that he,
he prepped his recruits and that he
would debrief with them when they
came out to make sure that his that
that when he trained the next class
of recruits that they were prepared.
Did he sit down and say write
down every question that was on
this test and the answer so that
I can then go give that to the
next class so they can cheat?
No, that did not happen exactly.
What did happen will now be up to an
administrative law judge to decide.
And there's a lot at stake.
It's really a man's life and occupation
that's at issue here. Courtney
and Wright is an attorney who
specializes in administrative law.
She says an upcoming administrative
appeal hearing will be Delaney's
chance to present his evidence.
He's going to have to show that he's
more credible, and the information
that he has is more credible than
what the state has to present.
While Troy Delaney appeals the decision
from the Department of Homeland Security,
he remains on paid leave,
which essentially means Muncie and its
taxpayers are paying him not to work,
city records show.
So far, Delaney has received
nearly $22,000 since starting his
administrative leave on May 25th,
and if the longtime Muncie
firefighter wins his appeal,
or if he at least remains on the
payroll for another six months,
he can collect his full
retirement from the city.
Is there an effort to drag things out
at this point until March of 2024 so
that he qualifies for his full pension?
No, there's not an effort to drag it out,
just an effort to be fully prepared
19 1/2 years serving that community.
I think he deserves the benefit of the
doubt until the final judgment is rendered.
Indiana Homeland Security tells 13 News
it stands behind its investigation
and looks forward to presenting its
case to an administrative law judge.
If Troy Delaney does not win
his administrative appeal,
his attorney says they'll appeal
again by taking the case to court.
We'll keep following this case,
which probably won't end anytime soon.
I'm on a Siegel 13 Investigates.