Sonoma County fire captain pleads guilty to embezzlement

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Sonoma County fire captain pleads guilty to embezzlement

Calif. fire captain pleads guilty to embezzlement
Michael Bechtold stole money that other firefighters had paid to Rancho Adobe Firefighters Association for hockey tickets, Disneyland, divorce

PENNGROVE, Calif. — A captain with the Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District in Sonoma County has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $63,000 from the firefighters union and using the money for San Jose Sharks season tickets, a trip to Disneyland and a divorce attorney, authorities said Tuesday.

Michael Bechtold, 39, of Rohnert Park stole money that other firefighters had paid to the Rancho Adobe Firefighters Association, where he was treasurer, said Deputy District Attorney Amy Ariyoshi.

Bechtold's downfall began when association board members asked him for financial reports. Bechtold delayed providing them and began to miss several regularly scheduled association meetings, said sheriff's Sgt. Michael Raasch.

When Bechtold finally supplied a report, "it became obvious that the report had been tampered with," Raasch said.

Authorities determined that Bechtold had forged and cashed several association checks, Raasch said. He spent the money on housing, the Sharks season tickets, a trip to Disneyland and to pay a divorce attorney and child support, authorities said.

At a hearing Monday, Superior Court Judge Ken Gnoss also found Bechtold guilty of a probation violation stemming from a 2009 misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.

Bechtold faces up to three years in jail, Ariyoshi said. California Fire News 2011

No comments:

How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, November 17, 2011