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Another Case of Theft in the Volunteer Fire Service

There has been another case of theft in the volunteer fire service, this time in West Virginia, and this time to the tune of $242,269.15. Stephen Wilson, 61, the treasurer of the Short Gap Volunteer Fire Department was arrested last Friday, August 12, 2011 by State Police.

Financial irregularities were first discovered approximately 6 months ago. After a series of meetings with the department’s board Wilson finally admitted to the theft, and pulled a handgun telling the board members he could not live with himself. Members were able to get Wilson to surrender the gun.

Wilson faces three charges: embezzlement, falsifying accounts, and wanton endangerment. According to my records there have been at least 72 cases of theft from volunteer fire companies since 2006 ranging from $10,000 to over $1 million. In each case the theft was committed by treasurers, presidents or fire chiefs.

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Posted in Criminal Law, Theft in the Volunteer Fire Service, Volunteers

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  1. Another Volunteer Organization the Victim of Insider Theft | Fire Law linked to this post

    [...] only been a week, but there’s been yet another case of theft in the volunteer fire service – this time in [...]

    on August 24, 2011 @ 9:56 pm.