Former Seaville Fire Chief Sentenced to Prison; Son to Pre-Trial Intervention

The former chief of the Seaville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company was sentenced Monday to five years in state prison for receiving payments of over $46,000 that were based on fraudulent invoices and receipts he submitted for reimbursement to the fire company and township fire commissioners.

52-year-old Eugene Spiegel, who pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy back in June, was sentenced to five years in state prison and was ordered to pay over $46,000 in restitution. Spiegel will also be banned from all future public employment. Spiegel’s son, 20-year-old Jacob Spiegel of Seaville, was admitted to a pre-trial intervention program after he admitted that he received a reimbursement of almost $1,300 for training that he did not attend while volunteering for the Seaville Fire Company.

In a press release, Acting Attorney General Hoffman said, “The Spiegels stole from an organization whose purpose is to serve Seaville’s residents and protect them during dangerous circumstances. Eugene Spiegel abused the trust of his community and his fellow firefighters by routing fire company funds to enrich himself.”

The state started an investigation back in March, 2014, after an internal review by the Seaville Fire and Rescue Company of its finances that revealed several reimbursements Spiegel had received for training courses and clothing that he had never paid for and the company had never actually received. The financial review discovered that the fire company had issued approximately $18,000 in checks to a clothing apparel company that listed Spiegel’s home address as its location. In addition, the investigation found that he had been receiving reimbursements totaling more than $17,000 since 2011 for purchases of fire company apparel from a defunct company that ceased operations during Spiegel’s alleged scam. The fire company could find no evidence it ever received any apparel. Additionally, between 2010 and 2013, Spiegel received more than $9,500 for firefighter training sessions that he did not attend.