Mayor Charged With Stealing From VFD

We have covered a number of stories about theft in the volunteer fire service, but here’s a new one: a West Virginia mayor was charged with embezzling funds from the local volunteer fire department.

Grant Town Mayor Robert Dale Riggs  has been arrested and charged with four counts of embezzlement, four counts of forgery and four counts of uttering, after he allegedly wrote and cashed four checks worth  $9,310 from a Grant Town Volunteer Fire Department account.

The crime was discovered by the fire chief who became concerned about the four suspicious checks. The checks were drawn on the Grant Town EMS checking account between April 2011 and August 2011.

Riggs, who was also the fire company’s president, allegedly forged the counter signatures of the secretary and treasurer. He was released on a $6000 bond.

More on the story.

 

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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