A former Hellertown borough councilman has been charged with stealing from a borough fire company after allegedly improperly filing time cards.
John M. Bate, 57, of 1600 Ilona Drive, was arraigned Thursday morning on theft and related charges stemming from the pay and stipend he received from Dewey Fire Co.
Bate previously served as ambulance captain with the fire company at 502 Durham St. He is free on $5,000 unsecured bail in the case.
"The man built the Dewey rescue squad ... as a volunteer for years and years," defense attorney Erv McLain said. "He's understandably upset about this. We will absolutely defend the case vigorously."
Bate was appointed last year to fill a vacant seat on Hellertown Borough Council. Borough Solicitor Michael Corriere said Bate submitted a letter of resignation on Wednesday. He also resigned as the borough's emergency management coordinator.
Borough council will have to formally accept the resignations at its next meeting on Tuesday.
Police allege from Jan. 2, 2011, through October 2015, Bate filled out time cards to cover times when he handled administrative duties for the fire company, but was not present and on shift.
At the same time, Bate received an annual stipend of $1,500, in monthly payments, to cover administrative duties as ambulance captain, police said. Over the four years, Bate improperly claimed 2,810 hours on his time card, totaling $38,427, prosecutors allege.
In an interview with police on Jan. 2, Bate told police the time card entries were for instances where he handled administrative duties.
Bate was responsible for submitting the ambulance service's payroll, including his own. There was no organizational oversight or audit, which allowed the alleged thefts "to occur for an extended period of time," police said.
Police said they began their investigation into the alleged thefts on July 29, 2016. Four days before, Bate was cited for harassment, following an argument with Dewey Fire Co. President Michael Malone at the fire company's hall, records show.
Bate followed Malone as Malone tried to leave an argument, the citation states. Bate was found guilty in absentia of summary harassment.
Financial blows to fire company
Last November, the fire company's former treasurer was charged with stealing more than $395,000 from Dewey. McLain said to his knowledge, that investigation was separate from the one involving Bate.
Agnes Patterson was treasurer since 2002, and she was the only person to have access to those financial accounts. Patterson spent the money on illegitimate purchases and to fund a gambling habit, prosecutors allege.
Where was the $395K stolen from Dewey Fire Company spent?
Patterson is awaiting trial in her case. Her next Northampton County Court date is April 3.
Hellertown Borough Council President Thomas Rieger said officials will appoint a replacement for Bate under procedures spelled out in the borough code.
Without specifying, he said procedures also are in place for temporary coverage of the emergency management coordinator job until a replacement can be appointed.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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