Dallas County Marshals at the Dallas County Commissioners Court in Dallas, Texas, Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Anja Schlein/Special Contributor
After Dallas County Fire Marshal assistant chief Zack Masri was fired June 8 for misconduct, three of his former subordinates told human resources about additional concerns.
They said Masri sold them flat wallet badges for $85 despite the department buying them for $75 a piece, according to a Texas Rangers affidavit, obtained by The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.
Fire Marshal Robert De Los Santos called the Texas Rangers to investigate. Payroll records indicated Masri worked overtime for the elections department while on the clock for the fire marshal’s office, according to Ranger Woody Gosser’s affidavit. Between Feb. 1 and June 5, the affidavit alleges Masri accumulated 182 overlapping hours where he was paid $21,142 for off-duty elections work while simultaneously earning $14,044 as a fire marshal assistant chief.
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The Texas Rangers’ investigation resulted in Masri’s arrest Tuesday on three misdemeanor counts of abuse of official capacity, one count of misdemeanor theft and one felony theft charge. He turned himself in to Wylie police and was released on $15,000 bond, according to his attorney Mark Lassiter, who said Masri is not guilty.
Former Dallas County Fire Marshal assistant chief Zack Masri, center, and Fire Marshal Robert De Los Santos observe a County Commissioners Court meeting.
Michael Wigington
“We have cooperated fully and we will continue to do so,” Lassiter said Thursday. “We believe that the ranger is mistaken in his conclusions and we look forward to the opportunity to prove that.”
Dallas County Administrator Darryl Martin declined to answer whether county officials knew of problems with Masri’s work schedule, citing the pending criminal investigation.
“Dallas County is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability for all public servants,” Martin said.
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The arrest of the former second in command of the Fire Marshal’s office comes after state lawmakers and the agency overseeing law enforcement in Texas have accused the county department of operating more like a security force than a fire safety agency. Since 2015, Dallas County has deployed peace officers commissioned by the Fire Marshal to perform security duties in county buildings, a division that now dwarfs fire safety operations in staff and budget.
After lawmakers criticized Dallas County in committee hearings, the legislature passed a bill last year clarifying the legal role of fire marshals as being related to fire investigations and building inspections. The county responded by changing the name of the security force but not its duties because the law does not explicitly prohibit fire marshals from conducting security, Martin previously said.
Masri, 40, led security operations until he was fired June 8 after six years with the fire marshals office. His termination came after a series of misconduct accusations this year: pointing a gun at a colleague in a “joking” manner, calling female co-workers “bitches” and ghost-writing an email defending his office before having a county commissioner send it, according to personnel records obtained by The News.
After the three employees raised concerns about the badges, human resources and the fire marshal administration conducted their own investigations before De Los Santos requested the Rangers step in, Gosser wrote.
Elections department spokesperson Nic Solorzano did not respond to an email or text message asking what job Masri performed for elections, but he provided security services for Dallas County among his other assistant chief duties.
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The class B misdemeanor theft charge, which carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail, is tied to $225 in the alleged badges sales.
He was charged with the three counts of abuse of official capacity because Masri was a peace officer with authority over the three employees he allegedly stole from, according to the Rangers’ affidavit. The class A misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year in jail, according to the penal code.
His felony charge related to the alleged theft of $14,044 in fire marshal pay carries a penalty of 180 days to two years in state jail if found guilty, according to the penal code.