GARDINER — Fire Chief Bob Wilson hopes for a resolution soon in the case of Jefferson County Fire District No. 5’s former secretary, who has been charged with stealing money from the district, so that the district can move forward.
He said the experience has made the district — which covers Gardiner and Discovery Bay — more united and far more financially watchful.
“We’re hoping for closure,” Wilson said.
“When she got arrested, I thought that was great, but I knew the wound was going to be reopened.”
Christine F. Nelson, 39, is charged with stealing $77,153.59 from the district in 2006 and 2007.
She pleaded not guilty June 6 to charges of first-degree theft and forgery in Jefferson County Superior Court.
No trial date has been set. Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell said that her office and Nelson’s attorney, public defender Ben Critchlow, are now in plea negotiations.
In 2007, it was discovered that there had been a misappropriation of $77,153.59 between Sept. 1, 2006, and May 31, 2007, in the fire district which services Gardiner and Discovery Bay, according to a state auditor’s report released Dec. 24.
Wilson placed Nelson on administrative leave without pay in May 2007.
Shortly after, Nelson left the state, said Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Barb Garrett.
She was arrested April 29 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Before Nelson was hired as secretary of Fire District No. 5 in August 2006, a State Patrol background check found nothing amiss, fire district officials said.
It was later discovered that Nelson had been convicted of theft and forgery in 2002 in Okanogan County.
