The former chief of North York's Liberty Fire Co. remains free on bail, accused of embezzling more than $16,000 from the company between 2015 and 2019.
Stephen D. Miller, 58, of the 2700 block of Clearview Road in Springettsbury Township, is charged with the third-degree felonies of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and receiving stolen property.
His bail was set at $15,000 unsecured, meaning he didn't have to post cash to remain free but could forfeit that amount if he misses court hearings.
Miller declined comment on Wednesday, saying he first needed to speak with his attorney.
He resigned as Liberty's chief in April, citing harassment from peers, friends and residents. His exit came after a dispute among borough council members over the public release of a fire company audit.
"As of this evening, (Miller) has resigned as our chief due to being harassed by many people he has helped as firefighters and thought he was friends with," North York Borough Council President Richard Shank said in an April 14 statement.
Miller remained a member of the fire company and vice president of its executive board, officials said at the time.
Reached Wednesday, Shank declined immediate comment.
"I really don't know anything about this as of now," he said.
Previous thefts?
Charging documents state that a fire company official advised investigators that Miller had stolen money from the fire company's junior firefighters account in 1991 and 1992, but wasn't prosecuted for it.
"Council then tried to get him to resign; however, he refused to do so," documents state.
Charges were filed by York County Detective Jeff Snell and indicate that county detectives have been investigating allegations of theft against Miller for about 11 months.
The issue has been a contentious one in North York, including at borough council meetings.
It was on Nov. 1 that North York Council Member Vivian Amspacher went to the York County District Attorney's Office and alerted detectives there to her suspicions about Miller, documents state.
Liberty Fire Co.'s former recording secretary, Christopher Wilhelm, also came forward with concerns that Miller had stolen money from the fire company, according to charging documents. Wilhelm, 30, died Sept. 8 after battling cancer, according to his obituary.
As county detectives did their own investigation, the North York Borough Council hired the accounting firm RKL LLP to conduct an audit of the fire company's finances. The results of that audit were later provided to Snell.
But borough officials did not make the results of that audit public, saying at the time that it was related to an ongoing investigation.
In September 2019, about 10 members resigned from Liberty Fire Co. At the time, Miller attributed the exodus to conflicts among the membership.
Record-keeping issues
Snell's investigation was made more difficult because Miller hadn't kept records when he rented out the fire station's social hall for parties and other functions, documents state.
Even the 2019 calendar Miller turned over to borough officials had items crossed off, with some of his handwriting illegible, documents state.
One member of the company told investigators it was a known fact that Miller enjoyed gambling, did so on many occasions and "always had a lot of cash on him," according to charging documents.
Documents state that Snell tracked down a number of people who told him they rented the social hall for parties and other events and paid Miller cash, but that the cash was never deposited into the fire company's bank account.
Some were able to provide back-and-forth text messages they had after am with Miller about the rentals, documents state.
Checks made out to 'cash'
Snell also found a number of Liberty Fire Co. checks written, endorsed and cashed by Miller, made out to "cash," according to charging documents. The company's treasurer told investigators that two signatures were supposed to be required on checks, but had only Miller's signature, documents state.
The detective determined that between 2015 and 2019, Miller's personal checking account had been charged $9,060 in bank overdraft fees, according to documents, which state it appears Miller was having financial difficulties.
Snell interviewed Miller on Sept. 16.
"Miller was confronted with all the evidence against him in this case," Snell wrote in charging documents, and at that point confessed to stealing from the fire company.
He claimed it was to support his daughter and four grandchildren, documents state.
Those documents estimate the total amount Miller stole from Liberty Fire Co. to be $16,350.
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