A former member and treasurer of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company has been charged with theft and forgery after he was accused of stealing more than $200,000 over the past seven years, Deputy Police Chief Bill Holmer said Friday.
Police Chief Phil Norton said 54-year-old David Garmoe, of the 600 block of Prairie Avenue, Glen Ellyn, was arrested Friday and charged with eight counts of theft, two counts of forgery, two counts of continuing a financial crimes enterprise, money laundering and financial institution fraud.
Fire officials discovered the alleged theft of funds in February and reported it to the village. Police immediately launched an investigation with the full cooperation of the fire company.
“What is important to remember is this was discovered by the fire company,” Norton said.
The investigation revealed an extensive misappropriation of fire company funds dating back to 2004, police said. Garmoe is accused of stealing $260,000 between 2004 and 2011. He had been issuing unauthorized checks to himself and his business, according to a release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“From our standpoint, it’s not what he was doing with the money, but that he was doing it illegally,” Norton said.
After reviewing the case with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, police investigators obtained a search warrant and arrested Garmoe without incident.
He was a member of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Company for 26 years, where he served as treasurer for approximately the last 20 years, police said. Garmoe was placed on administrative leave when the theft was discovered, Holmer said.
A woman who answered the phone at Garmoe’s home said she has no comment about the recent charges.
In a Friday afternoon bond hearing, Judge Cary Pierce set bond for Garmoe at $500,000.
Assistant State’s Attorney Helen Kapas-Erdman said the scheme went on for seven years and included 87 transactions. Much of the money was used for personal reasons and to support his business, Fireground Supply in West Chicago, she said.
She told that judge that when Glen Ellyn detectives went to his home recently to question him they noticed a new cement driveway and mentioned it. He replied “that’s where one of the checks went,” Kapas-Erdman said.
Kapas-Erdman said Garmoe wrote checks to himself and filed claims signing the names of other firefighters. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
“The paper trial is unbelievable,” Kapas-Erdman said. “There is a dark side to him. He has severely affected the trust of the Glen Ellyn community.”
Matthew Sperry, Garmoe’s attorney, stressed Garmoe’s 27 years of the department and as a volunteer at Taste of Glen Ellyn, Glenbard West band parents, and YMCA Indian Guides.
He requested a lower bond of $260,000, but the judge declined. He wife and son were in court, but declined comment.
“He is no threat to the community,” Sperry said.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a press release that the charges in no way reflect the “good men and women of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company or the Glen Ellyn Fire Department” who risk their safety to serve their community.
“For several years Mr. Garmoe allegedly took advantage of his position as treasurer for the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company,” Berlin said in the release. “He allegedly cooked the books to benefit himself at the expense of those who had trusted him.”
• Tribune reporter Art Barnum contributed to this report.
