By Paula Weinman | Echo
Former Marion fire chief Stephen Gorrell was charged with 14 felonies, including charges of theft, forgery, and official misconduct on May 3. Grant County prosecutors have accused him of taking or misusing thousands of dollars from the public during his time as chief of the Marion Fire Department, partially by abusing the department's policy allowing employees to sell back vacation and sick days.
Under this policy, employees are to sell back up to five unused vacation days and two unused sick days. Gorrell sold back ten vacation days and one extra sick day, earning him over $1,000 in unearned pay, according to court records.
Gorrell reportedly accepted payment for work with the dive team for which he was not certified, and that he did not perform. He is also accused of taking fire station appliances and installing them in his office for personal use. Gorrell was arrested at his home last Thursday, according to the Chronicle-Tribune.
The Grant County Superior court judge filed a recusal only a few hours after the case was brought to light. The prosecutor's office has published an indictment, but a court date has not been set.
The Grant County Prosecutor's office described Gorrell's misconduct as a "pattern of racketeering." "Racketeering" is a broad term that covers any number of legal offenses- including all of Gorrell's 14 felonious charges, according to Taylor professor Phil Loy.
"If you were racketeering in the 1920s, you were selling illegal booze," Loy said. "A pattern of racketeering here would mean that Gorrell, over time, took public funds for his private use. It's as if I took political science department funds and consistently went to the DC, charging my lunch against the department funds. When public money is involved, it becomes a crime."
With current backlog in court cases, Loy expects it will be a long time until Gorrell's case could go to court. In fact, he said, it may take over a year before Gorrell actually faces a jury. This works in Gorrell's favor, he said, as public outrage will have died down. Jurors will be less likely to be influenced by public opinion.
With the prevalence of electronic records, it will be difficult for an attorney to prove Gorrell's innocence for all of the charges, Loy said. But the attorney may employ certain tactics to lessen the severity of Gorrell's sentences.
"If there are multiple charges, a good defense lawyer would plea bargain," Loy said. "Get some of the charges thrown out, as a price for pleading guilty to other charges."
Investigations surrounding Gorrell began in February 2012, following Gorrell's retirement. This is the fifth time the fire department has dealt with cases of theft since August 2012.The Marion Police Department was not available for comment on this story.
