Records: Fired SAFD engineer had car driven to Mexico, reported it stolen

Emilio Montes suspended indefinitely Feb. 20

SAN ANTONIO – A veteran San Antonio Fire Department engineer has been fired, weeks after pleading no contest to felony insurance fraud.

Emilio Montes was suspended indefinitely Feb. 20, according to suspension paperwork released to the KSAT 12 Defenders Friday, essentially ending his 21-year career.

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The paperwork states that Montes authorized someone to drive his vehicle to Mexico in November 2016.

Three days later, Montes made a claim for the vehicle to USAA, according to city records.

A week later, Montes confessed to a USAA insurance investigator that he allowed the vehicle to be driven to Mexico so that he could collect insurance proceeds, according to the records.

Montes had been suspended without pay since last November; after being indicted last June for felony insurance fraud.

As part of a plea deal signed earlier this month, Montes has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine and restitution of more than $14,000.

His suspension paperwork states that he also did not report his indictment to the chief's office, a violation of SAFD protocol.

During a meeting last December with SAFD Chief Charles Hood, Montes said he allowed his father to take the vehicle to get it repaired in Mexico, where it was subsequently stolen, according to the paperwork.

Montes failed to inform Hood that he had already confessed to the insurance investigator, according to the paperwork.


About the Author:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.