INDIANAPOLIS --
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a lawsuit on Thursday against two former firefighters accused of stealing $25,000 in overtime pay for hours they never worked.
As first reported Wednesday, firefighters Anthony Slusher and Mike Rude have not repaid the full amount despite requests from the White River Township fire chief and the State Board of Accounts.
Slusher repaid $1,083 and said that was all he owed.
The attorney general's lawsuit is an attempt to recoup the remaining $24,460 plus attorney fees, from both firefighters and Arch Insurance Company of Kansas City, Mo.
The White River Township Fire Department had a $100,000 commercial crime insurance policy through Arch on each of the firefighters.
Andrew Swain, chief counsel for the attorney general, said public officials who break the law should be held accountable for their actions.
"You want to deter other public officials who are thinking about going down this road. You want to try to deter them from doing these things," Swain said. "All employees are asked to honestly and accurately report their hours worked to their employers. When public officials don't do that, then the attorney general is the only person with the power to try to recover these monies."
A Johnson County grand jury is expected to investigate whether criminal charges will be filed against Slusher and Rude.
"We want them to be paid what they're due. It's a very important service," Swain said. "Just like any other employee, they can't cheat the system and get more than what they're entitled to."
White River Township Fire Chief Jeremy Pell agrees.
"It's the taxpayer's money," Pell said. "Everything we can do to use it and further protect the firefighters on the street is vital. This is a lot money."
Auditors said Slusher reported overtime on his time sheets that he had not worked, totaling more than $7,800.
According to the audit, Rude obtained a password to hack into the time keeping system. Changes he made amounted to more than 1,660 hours worked or $17,737.50, the audit said.
"I define a good firefighter as a man or woman of integrity, duty, honor and pride," Pell. "These men fell short. It is absolutely unacceptable."
Pell said after a thorough investigation, both firefighters were terminated.
"Our response was very swift," Pell said.
Anthony Slusher of Martinsville now works for the Madison Township Fire Department as a firefighter and paramedic.
Madison Township Fire Chief Kenny VanSlyke did not return calls to 6News on Wednesday for comment.
Slusher refused to talk on-camera, citing his attorney's advice, but in a statement said he was wrongfully terminated.
"I never intentionally made claims for time work or maliciously strived to gain hours I did not work," Slusher said in a statement to 6News. "Upon my legal teams examination of the payroll records in a 20 month period ranging from 2005 to 2009, we found over 200 discrepancies between time cards and time sheets. We concluded that White River Fire Department's time system has systematic flaws."
Firefighter Mike Rude of Indianapolis also refused an on-camera interview but said he is innocent.
"I feel that all of this is a coverup to other wrongdoings within the payroll system at the questioned time within the White River Township Fire Department," Rude said.
Rude was also fired from the Lawrence Fire Department in 2010 following allegations of sexual harassment.
State auditors repeatedly found the White River Township Fire Department used a software package for payroll services that had not been approved for use by the State Board of Accounts.
"There was no evidence of excessive payment to any other firefighters and the fire department has taken steps to improve its computer security so that employee work hours are correctly tracked and paid," according to a release from the attorney general.
Pell admitted the time system wasn't perfect but said it had been overhauled and staff had been retrained since the incidents.
"We've changed passwords and limited the number of people who have access," Pell said. "I'm very confident it's not going to happen here again."
Pell said the department asked the State Board of Accounts to audit them and also requested the help of IT professionals.
AG Files Lawsuit In Firefighter Overtime Flap
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