The Albuquerque Journal
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — A former Rio Rancho fire marshal pleaded guilty to embezzlement and was sentenced to probation.
As part of a plea agreement, Ernest Pohl, 54, pleaded guilty last month to embezzlement over $500. A final judgement and order, filed on June 11 in state District Court, states Pohl was given a deferred sentence and placed on probation for 18 months. According to a Rio Rancho police report: Pohl took a generator purchased with city fire department funds. He was indicted in January by a Sandoval County grand jury on embezzlement. Pohl, who had been with the department for 16½ years, resigned as fire marshal July 31.
The fire department received a donation of $2,000 in February 2008 from a private business. Pohl was asked to use the money to buy a generator and equipment for the department. He told an employee to order two generators from a local business for $975 each. Pohl and the employee picked them up in March.
Pohl told the employee to take the unit home and keep it. He said the generators would be their “early retirement gifts” and not to tell the fire chief about them.
Pohl was asked about it in July 2008. He denied buying them, but the department found out otherwise a few days later and an investigation ensued.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal