- March 8, 2025
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The storm clouds surrounding the Flagler Beach Fire Department continue to darken. After three firefighters, including the former chief, were fired for violating alcohol policies on the job, the current chief has been charged with a felony.
The Flagler Beach Police Department filed charges with the Flagler County Clerk of the Circuit Court Thursday against Fire Chief Robert Pace for tampering with evidence (a felony) and obstruction of justice: resisting an officer without violence (a misdemeanor).
According to the charging affidavit, Pace, 41, on at least five occasions awarded community service work hours to Vitaly Tsabak, a 24-year-old on probation, when those service hours were not earned. Tsabak, who was on probation for grand theft among other crimes, was also left unsupervised at the station while crews left for emergency calls, the report states.
The investigation began when Tsabak presented the time sheet to the probation officer, saying he had worked up to five hours and as late as 10 p.m. on certain days. The officer was suspicious. Typically, the work hours are completed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
A member of the Flagler Beach Fire Department at the time, Jacob Bissonnette, was instructed in December 2012 by then-Fire Chief Martin Roberts to conduct an internal investigation into Pace for altering the time sheets for Tsabak.
The conclusion: Several time sheets were inconsistent. The security serveillance at the station showed that Tsabak only worked for about an hour, not five, on certain days. For example, Tsabak entered the station at 5:20 p.m. Nov. 4, 2012, and left at 6:30 p.m. His time sheet said he was there 5-9 p.m. Pace’s initials signed off on the report, and video showed he handled Tsabak’s request on at least one occasion.
When Bissonnette confronted Pace about the matter in January 2013, Pace became “extremely agitated.”
The police investigated further and concluded that, after learning that a complaint was filed against him, Pace then destroyed the video surveillance.
Pace denied the allegations. He told police he had not altered hours, and that the incident when Tsabak was left unsupervised “never happened.”
Pace, of Ormond Beach, took over as acting fire chief in February to replace Roberts, days after Roberts, Bissonnette and Shane Wood were fired for violating alcohol policies.
Although the charges have been filed against Pace, it’s ultimately up to the State Attorney’s Office to pursue the charges.
