Pressure campaign? Emails show Harlingen airport director questioned fire union’s narrative

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HARLINGEN — Emails show Valley International Airport Director Marv Esterly questioned whether firefighters were pressured into signing affidavits contradicting federal records while reporting a Harlingen Fire Department training violation as he proposed hiring a contractor to provide airport firefighting services.

Emails between Esterly and city officials address the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2024 findings citing the fire department for a training violation while reviewing concerns over the possible falsification of records.

In response to the Valley Morning Star’s request filed under the Texas Public Information Act, Esterly released the emails sent from April 29, 2024 to April 16.

In emails, Esterly questioned whether Evan Mann, president of the Harlingen Professional Firefighters Association, may have pressured three airport firefighters into signing affidavits describing two shortened training classes in June and July 2024, contradicting training records showing the sessions complied with FAA standards.

In an interview, Mann denied the claim.

“As union president, my job is to represent the members to make sure due process is followed fairly and legally,” he said.

On April 16, in an apparent response to Mayor Norma Sepulveda’s questions, Esterly suggested she consider questions including, “Are you aware that Evan Mann contacted the firefighters who signed the affidavits and attempted to persuade them to change their statements.”

Meanwhile, Mann said he believed the airport’s administration pressured the three firefighters into signing “pre-written” affidavits.

“Why was there no investigation conducted into the incident involving the abbreviated classes,” Esterly also asked in the email to Sepulveda.

In his email, Esterly wrote the fire department removed the three firefighters from their shifts before an FAA inspection.

“Why were the three individuals who submitted affidavits removed from the ARFF rotation just prior to the FAA inspection, despite having been retrained on the subject matter?” he asked.

In the email, he also asked, “Did you order ARFF personnel not to speak with airport administration about deficiencies in ARFF training or FAA compliance?”

In a Feb. 27 email to Sepulveda, Esterly posed similar questions.

“Did the HFD president attempt to pressure affidavit signers into aligning with the HFD chief’s narrative?” he asked, referring to Fire Chief Rafael Balderas. “Was the narrative presented by the union president during the December joint meeting inaccurate, particularly in the claim that the airport was aware of the issues in July 2024 and intimidated affidavit signers?”

Mann denied the claim.

“At the time I was representing these individuals, I had no idea what the chief’s narrative was,” he said. “My advice was based solely on the facts.”

Esterly also questioned what he described as attempts to quash firefighters’ information.

“Did firefighters feel intimidated after witnessing retaliatory actions designed to suppress information?” he asked.

Then, Esterly referred to a memorandum of understanding specifying firefighters’ qualifications and requirements.

“Has the HFD chief recently ordered ARFF personnel not to communicate with the airport?” he asked in the email. “If true, this would be a clear violation of the MOU and could allow for future suppression of critical safety concerns with the ARFF program.”

Balderas did not respond to a message requesting comment.

Many of the emails surround the FAA’s 2024 investigation launched after Esterly reported “discrepancies” in two firefighter training classes held last June and July.

“These discrepancies raise serious concerns about compliance with FAA regulations, the accuracy of training documentation and the potential falsification of government records,” Esterly wrote in a Dec. 2, 2024, email to Balderas.

“As you are aware, lapses in required training are considered FAA certification violations, posing significant risks to the city’s commercial operating certificate, which the airport board is responsible for maintaining,” he stated.

“These violations also jeopardize future airport grant funding and expose the city to civil penalties,” he warned. “Violations could result in FAA-imposed civil penalties for each commercial aircraft landing or departing while these firefighters were on duty since their training records became non-compliant.”

In the email, Esterly warned the falsification of training records could lead to “criminal prosecution.”

“The potential falsification of government records adds another layer of risk, with implications that could include criminal prosecution,” he wrote to Balderas.

Earlier this month, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz declined to comment on what he described as a pending investigation into the possibility of records falsifications.

In a Dec. 5, 2024, email to City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez, Esterly warned the airport’s knowledge of any firefighter training deficiency could lead the FAA to shut down the airport.

After self-disclosing 2024 training discrepancies to FAA officials, the agency’s Southwest regional director and its Texas airport district office manager called him to warn “the airport has an immediate obligation to ensure that all ARFF personnel are fully trained,” Esterly wrote to Gonzalez.

“Furthermore, if we know or suspect that any ARFF firefighters currently on shift or scheduled to work are not fully trained, the airport is obligated to issue a notice to airmen stating that there are no ARFF services available at (the airport) and would result in the immediate closure of the airport,” he stated.

In a Feb. 25 email to Esterly, Sepulveda referred to the FAA’s 2024 finding as isolated to the training sessions, describing “training issues which are serious and need to be handled but I don’t believe they are systemic failures.”

Then in a Feb. 27 email to Sepulveda, Esterly questioned whether the “training deficiencies” were “systemic or non-systemic.”

“It is difficult to conclude definitively that training deficiencies were not systemic without conducting a comprehensive investigation including interviews with the firefighters who signed the affidavits,” he wrote to Sepulveda.

For months, airport officials have been considering hiring a contractor to provide aircraft rescue and firefighting services, a move Esterly says would cut costs within a break-even budget.

Earlier this month, Mann warned city commissioners the firefighters’ union would file a lawsuit against the city if they didn’t stop the airport board from hiring a contractor.

In an interview, Mann said the board’s hiring of a contractor would violate Civil Service law protecting firefighters who could lose their jobs.

Mann also claimed airport officials were overstating FAA reports citing “isolated” firefighter training violations as part of a plan to “discredit” the fire department in order to lead the airport board to terminate the city’s $1.2 million agreement providing aircraft rescue and firefighting services.

Esterly denied the claims.

From 2017 to 2024, the FAA cited the fire department for three training violations, while last year Esterly self-reported “misleading” entries raising concerns of the possibility of records falsifications in training logs stemming from the two sessions last June and July.

“The FAA determined training and misleading entries to be directly isolated to the identified sessions and not systemic to the entire ARFF training program,” Denson E. Stasher, the agency’s safety and standards manager, wrote to Esterly in a Feb. 19 report closing an investigation based on last year’s findings. “In closing this case, we have considered all available facts and have concluded the matter does not warrant legal enforcement.”

In its 2024 investigation report, the FAA found the fire department’s ARFF program in “full compliance,” Erik Ramirez, the union’s vice president, said in an interview.

Meanwhile, Mann said airport officials were overlooking the fire department’s “perfect score” on its annual FAA inspections.

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