CHARLESTON, W.V. (AP) - The mayor of Grant Town is accused of embezzling $9,000 from the local volunteer fire company.
State Police have charged 46-year-old Robert Dale Riggs with four counts each of embezzlement, forgery and uttering. Investigators say Riggs fraudulently cashed checks from the fire department accounts.
The Charleston Gazette says Riggs was arraigned and released on $6,000 bail.
Calls to his home went unanswered Wednesday.
In February, Riggs asked Marion County commissioners to draft an emergency-services levy that could have provided $55,000 to each fire department in the county. After visiting 14 departments, Riggs reported that only five were financially stable.
The levy is on hold, but the county approved a $16,000 loan to the Grant Town fire company in February to help it stay afloat after two ambulances broke down.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
