fired for catching trespasser

[ataloss]

I am trying not reveal exact information b/c of fear.


Background info: State Ga....right to work state.
Major utility company, employment term 9+ yrs.
I am non-union, the other person involved is union.


I am in my 40's and was OFF DUTY (I work in security) my friend and I were scouting some areas on company property to hang our stands...We ran across 2 deer stands, the guys that hunt here is a very small group, so we called everybody in our group, no -one claimed them, so I notified the on duty officer and he met us at the site. And, we removed them, and took it back to the Supervisors station. My supervisor said that if no-one claims them, that we could have them which has been SOP for the whole time that I have been there.
After a couple of days, he tells me to take them home, I give one to my buddy(who is in his 20's) who was with me, and I keep the other one.
A few days later, My supervisor calls and says to bring them back, that the guy showed up raising heck, I said no problem, a few minutes later, he calls back and says "nevermind, keep them, I said what's the deal, he said that he was not going to allow the trespasser to get them back".
I go to work for 2 days, nothing is said, no problems.
My next day off (Friday), I get a call from my supervisor to bring the stands back, we both returned the stands.Later on that day, I get a call from my Supervisor to come in immediately, I go in and he and his supervisor inform me that I am suspended on the grounds of theft.
On Monday, the guy I was with also got called in by his supervisors and was suspended, My buddy calls his union rep, and his suspension is revoked and gets a letter in his file on the basis of stealing, and he is back at work.
I get called in on Wed., and get fired for failure to follow company policies and procedures. This is all the my seperation letter said.This is my ONLY write up, I have NOT EVER BEEN IN TROUBLE BEFORE.

After a little of investigation by a few friends, I find out that the trespasser's daddy works for the county....

I have already filled out the paperwork for the EEOC and am going this coming week.

I have spoken to an paralegal, who says that I have a case for age discrimination and retailation.

The retailation is based on a co-worker in my dept calling HQ and filing a complaint on our supervisor for unethical behavior with another co-worker(The supervisor and this other co-worker are having an affair).
My supervisor found out that SOMEONE called, and HE AND THIS OTHER WORKER started accusing me of calling, and the retailation and snide comments, her not working at all (she reads her books and surfs the internet on her laptop) she makes no rounds, does no paperwork..etc, etc, etc.
But I did not call, but apparently they thought I did, and It had been terrible for the last 2 months.
And then this...

Do I??
This has turned my life upside down, I am not sure what to do...

Any advice from this forum is GREATLY APPRECIATED.


Sincerely,

ataloss

Seems extreme given what happened. You could consult your nearest Department of Labor office to briefly discuss the issue with them first...you may also want to ask the company to put what is happening in writing and explain to them that you may have attorneys review the situation...try speaking to a higher level of management about the issue; they may override the other managers. If none of these efforts resolves the issue, let us know.

[ataloss]

The company will not speak to me, I was not allowed to speak in my defense or ask for an explanation of what "company policy or procedure" that I supposedly broke.

Thank you for responding...like my name says it all at a loss