Former parish fire official pleads guilty to forgery, theft
Published 3:18 pm Monday, May 8, 2017
Timothy P. Duncan, 53, of Angie, a former member of the Board of Commissioners for Washington Parish Fire District No. 6, recently pleaded guilty to 32 counts of forgery, theft, and other charges for steering thousands of dollars in public funds to himself and family members, according to officials with District Attorney Warren Montgomery’s office.
A restitution hearing has been set for July 6.
Duncan’s guilty plea on April 24 included the following charges — one count of theft over $25,000, 10 counts of forgery, six counts of theft over $500, and 15 counts of prohibited splitting of profits, fees, or commissions.
District Judge William J. Knight sentenced Duncan to seven years in prison, all suspended, plus five years of supervised probation on the theft over $25,000 and forgery charges. Duncan also received a suspended sentence of five years in prison with five years of supervised probation on the theft over $500 charges. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
According to officials in Montgomery’s office, Fire District No. 6 board members called the state legislator’s office to investigate after learning in September 2015 that Duncan had misappropriated Fire District funds. State auditors ultimately found that Duncan had used his position as board member between March 2012 and August 2015 to direct funds, totaling $128,083, to himself and family members.
According to the auditor’s report, the majority of the funds were made as payments for maintenance and improvements at district properties with little or no verification of necessity, competitive pricing, and/or authorization.
Assistant District Attorney Jason Cuccia prosecuted the case.