Pioneer Press
HUGO, Minn. — A former Hugo City Council member was sentenced to one year and 11 months in prison for stealing more than $100,000 from the state fire department association.
Anthony W. Bronk, 43, pleaded guilty in August to five counts of theft by swindle and one count of check forgery for using Minnesota State Fire Department Association money for personal items.
From 2010 to 2014, Bronk was treasurer of the nonprofit association of fire departments and firefighters. He used an association credit card for a variety of nonauthorized expenses that included a vacation to Cozumel, Mexico; wages to his girlfriend, who was not an association employee; memberships to computer dating sites; jewelry, lingerie, groceries and gas; and yard signs for his campaign for the city council.
Bronk was elected to the council in 2012 and resigned in November 2014. He had also been a volunteer firefighter with the Hugo Fire Department.
In addition to the prison sentence he ordered Nov. 18, Washington County District Court Judge John McBride also ordered Bronk to pay nearly $137,000 in restitution.
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