Union City fire chief, husband and other firefighter overpaid themselves over $75K, audit finds

UNION CITY, Ohio — The state’s 2018 audit of the village of Union City found the village’s former fire chief, her husband and other firefighters were overpaid $75,835 after lying on their time cards, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said.

The state issued findings for recovery of the money against former Fire Chief Pamela Idle and firefighters/EMT, Craig Idle and Brian Stump, the auditor’s office announced.

'Ohio’s first responders exemplify the best in each of us, putting the well-being of those in need above their own well-being on a daily basis," Faber said. “When someone undermines their reputation and the respect they have earned through sacrifice, we will pursue those individuals to ensure they pay for the damage caused by their selfish acts.”

From January 2010 to August 2016, the auditor’s office said they found Pamela Idle lied on her payroll time sheets, which included EMS runs, short transports and long transports. Faber said these either didn’t occur or there were no underlying EMS billing records.

The state also said “no knowledgeable supervisor approved her time sheets.” The village ended up overpaying Pamela Idle $31,305, the auditor reported.

The fire chief’s husband and firefighter, Craig Idle, also lied on his payroll timesheets during the same period, the auditor’s office said. He ended up being overpayed $33,240.

During the same period, firefighter Brian Stump was overpaid $11,290 after he also lied on time cards, the auditor found.

The auditor said no documentation existed to support that the village council was aware of the falsified timesheets or approved the overpayments.

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