A member of the Olean Fire Department has been charged with the theft of $116,000 of department funds to support his business and pay personal expenses.
The State Comptroller’s Office announced they were charging Terry Gaylor Jr., 41, with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, two counts of Forgery in the Second Degree and Official Misconduct.
According to The Buffalo News, the charges come after a joint investigation with the State Police and the Cattaraugus County District Attorney's Office.
He allegedly used more than $50,000 to pay his personal credit card, most of which funded his private HVAC business, along with Amazon purchases and Verizon Wireless payments. He wrote over $65,000 in checks to himself from fire department accounts.
Many of the checks also contained forged signatures.
Gaylor allegedly deposited these checks into his personal account, which he then used to withdraw cash and pay for personal expenses.
