PENNGROVE, Calif. — A Rancho Adobe fire captain was arrested Wednesday for allegedly embezzling more than $63,000 from the firefighters’ union.
Michael Bechtold used the money for housing, a trip to Disneyland and season tickets for the San Jose Sharks, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bechtold was Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District’s fire marshal and has worked for the department for at least 15 years, according to Fire Chief Frank Treanor.
The money Bechtold stole came from other firefighters’ payments to the Rancho Adobe Firefighters Association, where he was treasurer, Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Raasch said.
When board members began asking Bechtold for financial reports, he delayed providing them and started missing association meetings. When he finally supplied a report, it was clearly tampered with once board members checked the books.
Bechtold had forged and cashed association checks, investigators determined. He admitted to taking the money when detectives confronted him Wednesday at a scheduled appointment with a probation officer.
Prosecutors are expected to charge Bechtold with embezzlement, grand theft, forgery and violating the terms of his probation from a prior misdemeanor domestic violence conviction on Friday, according to the Press Democrat, making him ineligible for bail.