Ex-chief admits to taking funds from fire company; felony charges dropped
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- January 23, 2023
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A former fire chief in North York pleaded guilty to one theft charge and avoided a trial on accusations he embezzled thousands of dollars from his fire company.
Steven D. Miller, 60, admitted to the misdemeanor count of theft by unlawful taking of movable property Thursday.
Three felony theft charges — alleging unlawful taking of property, failing to make required disposition of funds and receiving stolen property — were dismissed as part of the plea, court documents show.
York County Court of Common Pleas Judge Harry Ness sentenced Miller to five years of non-reporting probation and imposed restitution, the documents show.
Miller was accused of embezzling more than $16,000 from Liberty Fire Co. over several years while he was the department’s chief.
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The North York Borough Council commissioned a forensic financial audit in 2019, and the report concluded a “high likelihood” that Miller misappropriated assets from 2012 through 2018.
Consulting firm RKL LLP, which completed the audit, pointed to close to $15,500 in “suspicious” withdrawals from the fire company’s general account, with about $5,600 more in questionable withdrawals from the fire company’s account for its social hall.
Miller resigned as fire chief in April 2020, and he was charged in the case five months later.
Liberty Fire Co. disbanded by the end of 2020.
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Miller was scheduled to go to trial this week after his case was placed on the trial list, at the request of attorneys on both sides, during a hearing in August.
Leading up to that, a hearing was called for last Thursday to formally list the case for trial. Miller pleaded guilty at that hearing instead of going forward with the trial.
Miller has been free on an unsecured $15,000 bail since October 2020.
— Reach Aimee Ambrose at aambrose@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @aimee_TYD.
