NKyTribune staff
A former Erlanger firefighter has been charged with illegally accepting compensation for CPR and public safety classes he was paid by the city to teach.
Deye (fortwright.com)
Timothy Deye was scheduled to appear in court in Kenton County today to face 49 counts of forgery and one count each of theft by deception, official misconduct and soliciting unlawful compensation.
According to the charging documents Deye was employed by the Erlanger Fire Department (EFD) from 1998, and was placed in charge of public education and training in 2004.
Deye 50, was identified as a training specialist with the Fort Wright Fire Department, but his photo has been removed from the website.
On January 3, of this year, Deye abruptly announced his retirement and did not return to work thereafter. The complaint states that upon Deye’s departure, EFD personnel found invoices on his computer which appeared to charge local businesses for CPR and other public safety classes Dye was paid by the City of Erlanger to perform.
A subsequent investigation by Erlanger Police Detective Tom Loos revealed 49 invoices dated between Jan. 21, 2006 and Dec. 16, 2016, billing businesses $30, per student, per class, for Deye’s services.
Most of the invoices contain the Erlanger Fire Department logo and the City of Erlanger’s tax ID number.
The complaint indicates that many invoices read “On Behalf of Erlanger Fire/EMS Thank You for Improving your Lifesaving Skills!” All of the invoices state “Make all checks payable to Tim Deye” and contain Deye’s home address as the return mailing address. 16 invoices dated between 2014 and 2016, billed businesses a total of $9,827.00.
Loos spoke to several business owners to whom the invoices were addressed and confirmed they received the invoices and paid Deye as instructed, with the understanding that the bills were authorized by EFD. Loos also obtained bank account records showing checks corresponding to the invoices were deposited into Deye’s personal bank account.
Each of the businesses contacted by Loos indicated Deye was dressed in his EFD uniform when he taught classes and arrived in his marked EFD vehicle and all classes were taught at businesses in Kenton County.
Loos spoke with Erlanger City Administrator Marc Fields and EFD Chief William Whitaker. who stated Deye was never authorized to charge businesses for teaching public safety classes, nor was he authorized to use the EFD logo or city tax ID number on invoices.
Loos also spoke with each former EFD Fire Chief who served between 2006 and 2014, when Whitaker became Fire Chief). All indicated Deye was never permitted to charge businesses more than EFD’s cost to conduct a class ($4 per student, per class for certification cards). None of the former EFD chiefs had seen Deye’s invoices, nor had they given him permission to create invoices for his services, nor use the EFD logo or city tax ID number.
