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Ex-fire chief gets jail time for stealing from department

Posted May 28, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - The former chief of a central Illinois volunteer fire department has been sentenced to 180 days in jail for improperly using department funds to put gas in his personal vehicles and for other purchases.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/20OWNRh ) 40-year-old James E. Bennett of Brimfield pleaded guilty to a count of felony theft in Peoria County Circuit Court on Thursday.

He also was ordered to pay more than $10,000 in restitution to Brimfield's volunteer fire department.

According to court records, Brimfield used about $10,614 from a department credit card to pay for the purchases from 2014 to 2015.

An investigation began in May 2015 after two department members notified authorities of suspicious charges, checks and invoices.

Brimfield must report to jail on Sept. 5.

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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com

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