MOUNT WASHINGTON, Ky. --
The Mount Washington, Ky., fire board of trustees has suspended the city's fire chief and a captain after both were indicted on criminal charges Thursday.
Capt. Anthony "Tony" Judd was indicted on forgery and theft charges. Chief Michael Dooley faces one count of misdemeanor official misconduct.
Detective Buddy Stump said the fire board notified police after discovering thousands of dollars missing from two accounts. He said one holds money collected by firefighters for Kosair Children's Hospital's Crusade For Children campaign. The other is a firefighter's fundraising account, he said.
"The fire department realized something was wrong. They didn't try to cover anything up," he said. "They worked with us 100 percent. They made us aware of it. We conducted an investigation, went to the grand jury, just like we would any other case."
Thursday night, the same board that reported the men to police voted 3 to 2 to suspend both without pay pending an administrative hearing to take place in two weeks.
"They're top-notch people, top-notch firefighters," said board chairman Earl Davis, who added that he was "surprised" by the allegations.
In light of the charges, Davis said the board has enacted stricter accounting policies to prevent future problems.
"We want the citizens of the community to always remember the Crusade for Children," he said. "It's a very worthy cause. Their donations will always go to the proper cause."
Dooley and Judd were unavailable for comment on the case Thursday night.
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