CASPER — A former Bar Nunn fire chief accused of stealing from the annual Muscular Dystrophy Fill the Boot fundraiser, misuse of a department credit card and misuse of a fire department bank account pleaded not guilty Thursday in Natrona County District Court.
Robert Hoover, 56, who is free on bond, appeared in a sweatshirt jacket and jeans before Judge Catherine Wilkins to face two counts of theft and one of credit card fraud, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and interference with police.
Wilkins read through the charges as Hoover stood beside his attorney Shawn Johnson.
Hoover told the judge he understood the allegations against him, and she asked him how he would plead.
“Not guilty, your honor,” he said.
Johnson asked that Hoover’s $3,000 cash or surety bond be continued. Assistant District Attorney Brandon Rosty had no objection, and the judge said she would continue the bond.
“This matter will be set for trial,” she said.
Nearly $2,700 Discrepancy
Charges stem from a three-month Natrona County Sheriff’s Office investigation into Hoover’s conduct following concerns raised by a Wyoming Highway Patrol employee who also served on the Bar Nunn fire department.
The arrest affidavit showed firefighters questioned a Labor Day 2024 Muscular Dystrophy Association Fill the Boot fundraiser where Hoover initially reported to his firefighters that they raised $7,327, then he sent a check to MDA for $4,667.
The money was collected in boots at different locations and dumped into a plastic tote supplied by Hoover, who drove to the locations during the day to collect donations.
An affidavit filed by NCSO Cpl. Kenneth Jividen shows that in a series of interviews with members of the volunteer fire department, including Hoover’s daughter and son-in-law, that Hoover had established a bank account for the fire department separate from the city and handled the department’s finances alone or with his daughter and son-in-law.
Following the fundraiser, Hoover told the investigator there was no formal process for counting the donated money and he denied giving other firefighters an exact figure of $7,327 raised for MDA at a fire department meeting.
He said he just took all the money to the bank to be counted.
Bank Video
However, bank video shows him arriving with bills neatly stacked and with rubber bands around them. He brought no coins to the bank, the affidavit says.
Interviews with his daughter and son-in-law initially stated that after the boot fundraiser, the money was taken to the fire department to be counted, and they helped Hoover count it, Jividen wrote.
His daughter would later tell investigators that her dad asked her to lie about going to the fire department, and that the money was actually counted at his house.
During the investigation, Hoover — who at the time also worked in the maintenance department for the town of Bar Nunn in addition to his fire chief role — showed up to a police interview with a folder on the fire department finances even though he did not know what the interview was about.
He initially denied having any MDA money and later presented coins worth $425 to the investigator that Hoover alleged he found in boots.
At one point, Hoover told investigators he would repay the “missing $2,660 to the MDA” and said it was possible that his daughter and son-in-law may have taken the missing MDA money.
Hoover is also alleged to have sold a Polaris Rzr 800 side-by-side to the department for $5,000 even though a captain in the department told him it was not needed and did not agree with the purchase.
A Casper firm’s later estimate of the value of the machine, which had some damage, was put at $3,500 to $4,000.
The investigation led to a review of finance records at the fire department and the Hilltop Bank account opened in November 2023. The records show $5,500 removed from the account, a figure in line with Hoover’s statement that he sold the Polaris to the department.
An investigation into the fire department’s bank account with three members of the department identified 43 expenditures that were “suspicious” totaling $20,317.15.
It also identified 13 “fraudulent” transactions that included restaurant purchases, groceries at Walmart, medications, cleaning products, a vacuum, and a purchase of the feminine hygiene product Vagisil, the affidavit states.
The investigation into Hoover led to his firing from both his town maintenance job and fire chief role.
Both theft charges and the credit card fraud charge against Hoover carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 fines. The official misconduct charge carries a fine of up to $5,000 and the interference charge a penalty of up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
