Santa John was at macy's Dept. store for over 20 years...both as the
"HEAD SANTA" and as a trainer for other santas and elves. A couple of elderly customers were offended by something he said, and their complaints caused him to get fired. He now has a new position at Lefty O'Douls Restaurant and Bar and is the spokesman for the fire fighters'
toy collection.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-12-07/bay-area/25010580_1_joke-santa-claus-john-toomey

John appeared on the Jay Leno tonight show on thursday dec. 9
http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/thursday-december-9-2010/1264362/?__source=recent-eps-module

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7837643

they are calling it the miracle on gearyt street...much like the
movie (from 34th street) where a santa gets fired from Macy's