Mishele Wright
Chronicle-Tribune
MARION, Ind. — A volunteer firefighter and former councilman pleaded guilty to several theft charges on Monday.
According to a plea agreement filed in Grant Superior Court 1, William “Bill” Wentz, 45, admitted to stealing from the Van Buren Volunteer Fire Department while he was working as a firefighter.
The former Van Buren councilman was charged in August with 12 counts of theft and one count of corrupt business influence after police alleged he used department funds for personal use. The transactions included several cash and ATM withdrawals, a veterinarian payment, the purchase of a firearm and a Verizon telephone bill. An estimated $12,000 was taken illegally.
Wentz on Monday pleaded guilty to the 12 counts of theft. Judge Jeff Todd is currently taking the deal under advisement, but if accepted Wentz will get no more than one year of jail time. According to the agreement, he would be sentenced to a total of six years, with Todd deciding how much time to execute with a cap of one year.
Prosecutors didn’t object to Wentz serving the sentence on home detention. The suspended portion will be served on probation.
He also will have to pay the fire department restitution for what he stole, with the amount to be determined at a later date during another hearing, according to the agreement.
Though originally Class D felonies, the charges will be modified to A misdemeanors if Wentz successfully completes probation. The Class C felony charge of corrupt business influence will be dismissed, if the deal is accepted.
Wentz resigned as town councilman in May after the police investigation began, and Fire Chief Don Plummer suspended him from the fire department pending the outcome of the inquiry.
On Monday afternoon, Plummer said he didn’t know about the plea agreement. He said Wentz is still suspended and that the status would remain until he determined what was going on with the case.
While being questioned by Indiana State Police during the investigation, Wentz admitted to making several unauthorized purchases and that he wrote a blank check to Plummer.
Plummer is currently facing a theft charge in connection to the incident, and a jury trial is scheduled for April 8.
The chief on Monday said a plea deal was possible in his case, but he didn’t want to comment on the overall investigation.
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