By James Bennett
The Daily Herald
COLUMBIA, Tenn. — Columbia firefighter Mike Jones was indicted by a Maury County grand jury for theft of over $60,000 from his own union, District Attorney General Brent Cooper said Tuesday.
The former Columbia Firefighters Association secretary/treasurer, a 15-year veteran who worked out of Fire Station No. 5 in north Columbia, was placed on administrative leave without pay, Interim Fire Chief Ty Cobb said.
“This is an issue involving his union,” Cobb told The Daily Herald. “The only issue with the fire department is his employment.”
Jones stole more than $60,000 using a union credit card and repaid the money, but Cooper took the case to the grand jury, which returned a true bill Jan. 30. Jones was arrested Tuesday and was released from the Maury County Jail on $50,000 bond. He will make his first court appearance March 6.
“The city alerted us to what happened between Mr. Jones and the union,” Cooper said. “We were told, in the beginning, the union and Mr. Jones had settled it. They had agreed to allow him to pay restitution to them. The figure he paid them was something like $65,000.
“Once it came to our attention, I felt we had a duty to look into it because the union wasn’t the only victim. You had dues-paying firefighters who contributed to this union financially. I felt, more or less, on their behalf , we should look into it.”
An investigator found at least $9,000 more in money Jones misappropriated over a three-year period, Cooper said.
“The total figure came close to $75,000,” Cooper said. “It was exclusively through a credit card given to him by the union.”
Jones was cooperative with the DA’s office, Cooper said, giving a statement to his investigator. Jones repaid the extra $9,000 either Monday or Tuesday, he added.
“Just because you make restitution does not mean that a crime did not occur,” Cooper said. “In fact, we prosecute hundreds of people for shoplifting every year who never made it out of the store with the merchandise. The store is technically not out any money, but a crime has occurred.
“That is not the only reason to prosecute cases - to get the money back. It’s also to deter that behavior. Once the investigation was completed, we presented it to the grand jury. We told the grand jury everything the investigation turned up. And we made sure they knew the money had been paid back. We also made sure they knew the union was not pushing for criminal prosecution.”
Cooper said Jones, who is represented by Columbia attorney John Colley, would either go to court or work out a plea bargain in the case.
If convicted on the felony charge, Jones could face eight to 12 years either in prison or probation, Cooper said.
“That’s ultimately to be decided by a judge if it goes to trial,” Cooper said.
The city of Columbia learned of Jones’ theft of funds in a letter from the firefighters union in October. Union President Danny Hill mailed a letter to the Columbia Fire Department after an audit found missing funds.
“He asked us for the opportunity to pay us back,” Hill told The Daily Herald in October. “At the time, we considered him a brother. We are a brotherhood of what we consider gentlemen.
“He has paid us with costs. We consider this matter to be closed,” Hill added.
The union demand repayment within 30 days of the audit.
“He paid us back everything we set forth,” Hill said. “Our legal counsel advised us, if he offered to pay us back, then to go get our money back.”
The union told the city about the theft four months after it happened. Hill confirmed in October he sent the letter to the fire department.
“This letter is to inform you that we firefighters are held to a higher standard of honest, trust and integrity. These are values we hold dear to us and would like to convey to you,” Hill wrote.
“We are not asking any action to be taken. We feel that the city of Columbia needed to be formally aware of the situation since we are trusted to a higher degree than most employees.”
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