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Fire-fund purchases raise flag

Detectives investigate possible embezzlement at Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department

By KARI PUGH

Date published: 8/19/2003

By KARI PUGH Detectives search ex-official's home

The Stafford County Sheriff's Office is investigating thousands of dollars of unauthorized purchases on Falmouth Volunteer Fire Department credit cards.

Digital cameras, VCRs, DVD players, computer equipment, bicycles, televisions, binoculars, tires, refrigerators, air conditioners and dryers are among the merchandise paid for with firehouse funds, court records show.

Detectives searched the home of former Falmouth fire Chief Chris Gower last Thursday in an attempt to locate some of the goods, or receipts showing when and where the merchandise was bought, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Stafford County Circuit Court.

Gower resigned as chief in July after a yearlong investigation into the theft of narcotics from ambulances led to the arrest of his roommate, a former volunteer fire lieutenant at the station. Both men were suspended from service.

During Thursday's search, investigators seized bank records, organizers, phone records, an OxyContin prescription bag and copies of fire department contracts, the warrant states.

Gower had not been charged yesterday. He could not be reached for comment last night.

Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett said the drug and embezzlement investigation at the fire department continues. He refused to speculate on future arrests. He said the Falmouth Fire Volunteer Fire Association, which handles the station's funding, is cooperating with detectives.

The county provides some money for Stafford's eight volunteer fire stations, which rely mainly on fund-raisers and donations to cover their costs.

Jett said the investigation into the fire station is "a spider web."

"The further we look, the more we find," he said yesterday.

The probe, led by Stafford Detective Michael Jenkins, began after two narcotics boxes disappeared from ambulances parked at the station.

Then painkillers were taken from a patient en route to the hospital, according to court papers.

According to search warrant affidavits, police informants made several buys of painkillers, including OxyContin, from Gower and his roommate, Lt. Neil Hannick. Some of those undercover transactions took place at the fire station, according to records.

Hannick was charged with drug distribution in July. Gower, although named in search warrants, has not been charged with any drug or other offenses.

The Falmouth fire station is the county's busiest. Volunteers respond to roughly 450 calls each month and often fill in when other firehouses are understaffed.

But the department has battled public-image problems for years. A 1995 scandal involved underage drinking and sex at the firehouse. A 1998 brawl ended with two volunteers charged with assaulting a county deputy.

To reach KARI PUGH: 374-5413 kpugh@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 8/19/2003