A fire chief accused of taking nearly $180,000 from the department he led is in custody.
Pennsylvania State Police confirm Matthew White, the chief of the South Greensburg Fire Department, was arrested in South Carolina and is awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, state police say they didn’t receive a tip about the stolen money. Instead, investigators say White’s family called on Monday, claiming they didn’t know where he was and they were worried he was going to hurt himself.
While looking to see if he used any credit cards recently, investigators noticed a recent withdrawal from the fire department for around $3,000.
That led them to find out that more than $178,000 was taken from the department, and eventually White being located in another state.
“I guess if there’s a bright side to this, he wasn’t hurt,” Trooper Steve Limani said. “He didn’t hurt himself. He was able to be taken into custody without any type of incident. He’ll be brought back here and we’ll work through the horrible scenario of all of the money being removed from a volunteer fire department that’s been very active in the community in South Greensburg.”
It’s unclear when White will be brought back to Westmoreland County for a single charge of theft by unlawful taking.
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