Woman Charged With Stealing $68K From Volunteer Fire Dept.
SAXONBURG (KDKA) – The former treasurer of a Butler County volunteer fire department has reportedly admitted to stealing $68,000.
Things were quiet Tuesday around the Winfeld Township Volunteer Fire Department. The building locked up tightly.
But there's no question things will be tougher there now for the 16 member team after the arrest of the fire company's treasurer, Jodi Lynn Undercuffler.
She is being charged with stealing $68,000 from the coffers there.
"This is a case of a single individual that became greedy within the position they were in and misused the power of that position," said Winfield Township VFD spokesperson Adam Hartwig.
Undercuffler was the financial secretary for the fire department from late 2013 until early 2015. She was responsible for all of the records, including the checks.
When a new financial secretary was sworn in, multiple checks made out to Undercuffler were discovered.
"The fire department has taken multiple steps to see that it does not happen again," said Hartwig. "It has formed an audit committee, and rewritten the bylaws."
No one answered the door at the Undercuffler home Tuesday; but in the affidavit of probable cause, she told authorities she took the money to help support her family when they got behind on bills.
But now the fire department is having trouble paying its own bills because it's now $68,000 in the hole and afraid public trust may be broken.
"It's a struggle to make it right with vendors on past due balances, keep current our current bills and to provide training for our firefighters, and keep the doors open and fuel in our units," Hartwig said.
The Winfield Township fire company protects about 3,600 residents and spreads across 40 miles of road.
The company hopes its current fundraising effort will help fill the hole left empty.
Undercuffler is free on $75,000 bail.
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