CASPER — The former Bar Nunn fire chief Thursday admitted to stealing nearly $11,000 from the department, including $2,660 from the 2024 Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) Fill the Boot drive.
The admission was part of a plea deal in which Robert William Hoover, 57, also pleaded guilty to committing official misconduct. In exchange, three other charges were dropped by Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Brandon Rosty.
Rosty outlined for Natrona County Judge Catherine Wilking the deal in which Hoover pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge and the official misconduct charge in exchange for a second theft charge, and charges of credit card fraud and interference with a peace officer being dropped.
The prosecutor said he would ask the judge for a three-to-five-year suspended prison sentence and three years of supervised probation.
“He will be committed to paying restitution of $10,812,” Rosty said, adding Hoover will also have to pay a $500 fine on the official misconduct charge.
Defense Attorney Keith Nachbar told the judge that his client agreed to pay the restitution, and then broke it out to:
• $2,660 for the MDA boot drive
• $2,652 for theft from a fire department Christmas Club account
• More than $5,500 for a Polaris RZR
Hoover, who appeared in court in a tan shirt and jeans, told the judge he understood the terms of the plea deal and the penalties involved.
Judge Wilkins told Hoover that she is not a “party” to the plea agreement and that if his presentence investigation causes her concerns, she could reject it, but he would be allowed to withdraw his plea.
Guilty Pleas
Hoover then pleaded guilty to both the theft and official misconduct charges.
“Did you unlawfully and knowingly take money from fundraiser donations from MDA while participating in the Fill the Boot (fundraiser)?” Wilkins asked.
“Yes, your honor,” he said.
Hoover told the judge he took $2,600 from the fundraiser and gave MDA the rest of it.
As Hoover started to talk about his misuse of fire department funds to make other purchases to provide his guilt on the misconduct charge, Nachbar cut him off.
The attorney asked the judge to rely on the “factual basis” of the theft charge to provide his guilt on the misconduct charge.
Wilkins then ruled that Hoover had complied with the law in terms of his guilt on the two charges and dismissed the three other charges.
She said she would order a presentence investigation.
Emptying The Boot
The charges against Hoover stem from the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office being alerted to concerns about the 2024 Fill the Boot fundraiser between Aug. 30 and Sept. 11, 2024, by a Wyoming Highway Patrol employee who served on the fire department.
Bar Nunn firefighters told NCSO Cpl. Kenneth Jividen that Hoover initially said the department raised $7,327 from the drive but only sent a check for $4,667to MDA.
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 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 collected money to the bank to be counted.
Bank Evidence
However, bank video showed him arriving with bills neatly stacked and with rubber bands around them and no coins, 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.
Hoover also sold a Polaris RZR 800 side-by-side to the department for $5,500 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.
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 his role as fire chief.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
