Former captain accused of Rescue theft

WILLIAMSBURG — According to the Whitley County News Journal, the former captain of the Williamsburg-Whitley County Rescue Squad has been charged with allegedly stealing about $1,000 from the organization.

The Kentucky State Police has charged Billy Joe Centers, 52, of Williamsburg, with 19 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and one count of theft by unlawful taking.

"Those were checks that were drawn from an account of the Williamsburg Rescue Squad from March until October of this year for his own personal gain," KSP Detective Colan Harrell said. "The theft involves about $1,000 that is missing."

Centers was arrested on Nov. 23. About a month earlier, after a change in officers at the rescue squad, the secretary and treasurer discovered the alleged improprieties and notified DES Director Steve Schwartz, whose office oversees the rescue squad.

According to the arrest warrant sworn out by Schwartz, Centers had in his possession forged checks written on the rescue squad's account that took place from March 30 through Oct. 22. The checks varied in amounts from $30 to $250, according to court records.

All 20 charges are class 'D' felonies punishable by one to five years in prison, Harrell said.

Centers pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Monday afternoon before Judge Kimberly Frost Wilson. She scheduled a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing. Centers was released on a $10,000 fully secured bond late Monday afternoon.

Government corruption commonplace in Whitley County

According to the News Journal, seeing officials accused of a crime or wrongdoing in Whitley County is nothing new for local residents. In fact, it has become almost commonplace the last several years with various local officials being charged with crimes.

A News Journal analysis shows at least eight local officials who have been accused of crimes since 1996, including the following:

• On Oct. 11, a Whitley County Grand Jury indicted former Williamsburg Superintendent John Radjunas on two counts of felony theft by deception and on three counts of misdemeanor theft by deception. Radjunas has pleaded not guilty to the charges that he allegedly double billed the school district and an education consortium for travel expenses.
  
• On Oct. 14, Williamsburg Fire Chief James Privett was cited by the Kentucky Division of Forestry for fire hazard/use of a welding torch, setting fire to his own land with no precaution, burning before 4:30 p.m. during fire hazard season, and an open fire without precaution. Privett has pleaded not guilty, and is scheduled to stand trial in January.
  
• On Sept. 1, 1998, a deputy circuit court clerk pleaded guilty to first-degree official misconduct. The charges stemmed from a series of driver's licenses and ID cards that were issued from the office that contained false information.
  
•  In July 1998, the grand jury indicted a deputy jailer for allegedly allowing prisoners to be in possession of a loaded handgun while in the Whitley County Jail.
  
• On Sept. 12, 1997, a former county attorney's office clerk was charged with 10 misdemeanor counts of theft for allegedly not depositing money from checks written to the office. The charges were later merged into one felony count, but a grand jury chose not to issue any indictments.
  
• On June 12, 1997, a Whitley County Sheriff's clerk was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs after police stopped her van on US 25W near Dairy Mart. The clerk would later plead guilty to the charge and is no longer with the sheriff's department.
  
• On April 27, 1997, a then Kentucky State Police Trooper was arrested for second-degree assault over the shooting of his wife, a charge that was later nullified. The trooper later resigned from the state police.
  
• On May 13, 1996, a Whitley County DES Director and Solid Waste Coordinator was indicted on two counts of fourth-degree assault stemming from an incident on or near his property the prior year involving two women. Following a jury trial in September of that year, he was found not guilty.
  

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