Officials: Footville firefighter made phony 911 calls
Photo 
Dustin Bentivegna
FOOTVILLE — It was suspicious when Footville volunteer firefighter Dustin R. Bentivegna was among the first to respond to routine reports of gas odors, calls he might normally ignore from his home miles away in Janesville.
“He never appeared to be begging for a call or that kind of thing,” Fire Chief Joe North said. “He wasn’t all excited and gung-ho or all that.”
It turns out, Bentivegna might have loved being a firefighter so much that he made phony 911 calls to relish his role. He is accused of using his cell phone to make four false reports of a gas odor within his fire district, Rock County Sheriff’s Capt. Jude Maurer said.
“He just admitted that he wanted to go out on a call,” Maurer said.
Bentivegna, 24, of 529 Rimrock Road, Janesville, was arrested Saturday on four charges of misdemeanor reporting a false emergency. He was booked in the Rock County Jail and released.
Bentivegna was a probationary volunteer firefighter training to become a regular volunteer firefighter, North said. He had been with the department for about six weeks.
He was fired Saturday for conduct unbecoming of a firefighter, North said.
Bentivegna is accused of making the calls between Monday, Aug. 30, and Friday. He didn’t provide his name when calling 911, only saying there was a gas odor near an intersection, Maurer said.
No one thought anything of the calls the first couple times, but the third and fourth was awfully unusual, Maurer said. A deputy then investigated and saw that all four calls came from Bentivegna’s cell.
“They were going out chasing a made-up call,” Maurer said. “They would check out the area and would come up with nothing.”
North said he has read books about emergency workers creating problems in order to respond to calls.
“It’s kind of a weird phenomenon,” North said. “The only thing we’re thankful for is that he didn’t set anything on fire.”
Bentivegna also was arrested in May on a charge of impersonating a police officer, Janesville Police Sgt. Chad Pearson said.
Bentivegna was accused of telling two juvenile females at Kiwanis Pond that he was an officer and sharing stories about his law enforcement escapades, Pearson said.
He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor impersonating a peace officer and was fined $488, according to court records.
Bentivegna is scheduled to be in Rock County Court on Oct. 5 on the false emergency charges.
Sep 12, 2010 at 6:04 p.m.
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Time to start giving psychological tests to these volunteers and more extensive background checks. Obviously this guy has an obsession with the uniformed occupations. I think he should be hired as KAB's bodyguard.
Sep 11, 2010 at 11:39 p.m.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Sep 11, 2010 at 12:52 p.m.
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Look at wccap!!!
He should not be working for anybody that needs care or help!!
Sep 11, 2010 at 7:26 a.m.
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He should have became a lawyer. He could have committed a drug felony and misconduct with only a 2 yr suspension of his license. But since he is a volunteer firefighter who calls in 4 fake calls and inpersonates a cop, his career as a firefighter is done. I guess the 4 digit salary is just as important as the 6-digit salary of a justice system representative. Hmmmm
Sep 10, 2010 at 3:33 p.m.
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This kid WAS friends with my daughter and also told us stories and made us believe that he was a Rock county Sheriff. and he was so believable.
Sep 10, 2010 at 1:44 p.m.
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This 24 year man has some serious issues. Making prank calls so he could feel important!?!? You would expect this STUNT from juveniles. I'm just glad while this 'bull' was going on there was not a real emergency happening.
Sep 10, 2010 at 12:28 p.m.
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Ewwww. he was macking on two JUVENILE females and pretending to be a cop??? What, he can't impress anyone over the age of 18?
This guy is a creep of the highest degree.
Sep 10, 2010 at 11:23 a.m.
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Kind of sounds like a form of Münchausen syndrome. He was really gung ho on going out on calls, either that or he is a chronic liar. JMO
Sep 10, 2010 at 10:33 a.m.
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Dustin Bentivegna = Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Sep 10, 2010 at 10:16 a.m.
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Mall Security?? That's too good! I hope he can remember the line "Would you like fries with your happy meal?" Good luck!
Sep 10, 2010 at 10:08 a.m.
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How smart is this guy not to think that those calls could be traced back to him?!?!?????
Sep 10, 2010 at 10:07 a.m.
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Sounds like he became a probationary volunteer firefighter to impress the girls. Yeeeesssh!
Sep 10, 2010 at 9:40 a.m.
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What an idiot. What if there were a real emergency and they were delayed because of this idiot. Why wasn't he fired in May when pretending to be an officer????
Sep 10, 2010 at 9:32 a.m.
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Next career: Mall Security
Sep 10, 2010 at 9 a.m.
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Yooper - I was thinking the SAME thing!
*
It's like this guy has a form of Muenchausen's or something.
Sep 10, 2010 at 8:25 a.m.
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DAAAAAA what a bone head he should get checked at the syco ward.
Sep 10, 2010 at 8:23 a.m.
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Yooper
Took my thought out of my mind... I was thinking Backdraft also........
Sep 10, 2010 at 3:40 a.m.
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Backdraft!
Sep 9, 2010 at 11:27 p.m.
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Lucky to catch this guy before anything really bad happened. Sending firefighters out on a call always carries some risk even if it is for a false alarm. It is also quite possible that he would eventually take his obsession to another level and start actually creating emergencies. I feel bad for the guys that had to turn out and sacrifice their precious time for this foolishness and let's not forget the wasted resources. The Footville Fire Department should make sure that this guy makes restitution for the calls.
Sep 9, 2010 at 7:18 p.m.
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He wants some action,I think the Woodsman is right,he's not done,not a bad guy though,rape/killing an unarmed man,that's bad.
Sep 9, 2010 at 7:15 p.m.
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How could he have this conviction and still be allowed to volunteer?????? No one checks his background ?? Good thing he isnt a fire bug !!
Sep 9, 2010 at 7:03 p.m.
Sep 9, 2010 at 6:24 p.m.
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Another wanabee fire fighter.
He needs a 2x4 aside the head, and send him on his way.
Too bad, cause Volunteer Firefighters are some of the finest firemen in the country, and don't need this negative press.
Sep 9, 2010 at 4:46 p.m.
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I would be keeping a eye or eye's on this psycho,i don't think his imagination has even peeked yet,he just has that DAAAAAAAA look about him!!
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