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A former fire chief with the Columbia Fire Protection District has been accused of misusing public funds during his time with the department. Randall Nickley was arrested Thursday afternoon on a warrant and charged with one felony count each of misappropriation of public funds and embezzlement. Local authorities are accusing him of multiple crimes involving alleged use of department funds over a stretch of time between January 2007 and June 2011, according to the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office. Allegations include a “number of transactions of a slightly different nature” over that stretch of time, “ongoing conduct, and ongoing practices,” DA Michael Knowles said. Knowles didn’t give details of specific actions, though he did say the charges include alleged purchases, checks, misallocations, false claims and unusual loans in excess of $5,000. Knowles confirmed the allegations also include use of funds to benefit a “family member,” though he didn’t comment further on whom. “These cases are never simple,” he said. Investigators started looking into Nickley in June, after a report was received from the Columbia Fire department, according to the DA’s office. Nickley was no longer the chief at the time, though while at the department he had full control over financial records, according to the complaint against him. Nickley was arrested and remanded to Tuolumne County Jail, and was released on $20,000 bail by late Thursday afternoon. Nickely did not return calls for comment. Officials at the Columbia Fire department did not return a message seeking comment by this morning. The Columbia Fire department has seen its ups and downs in recent years. Voters rejected a special parcel tax to help fund department operations in June 2010, which would have charged $80 per single family unit and $40 per mobile home. That tax would have raised $28,000 annually to supplement about $50,000 it received at the time in property taxes. The district voters later approved an identical tax in March 2011. |