Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber found that a City of Vermilion employee purchased fuel for personal use using city funds, totaling $4,714. This audit was for 2018 but was released last month.

William Nehls was a City Street Department employee from Jan. 1, 2016 through July 6, 2018. One of his responsibilities was to make regular purchases of fuel for city vehicles. The audit uncovered that during his employment, the city issued payments totaling $4,714 for fuel purchases made by Nehls outside of his employment hours.

Following an investigation by the Vermilion police, in September 2018, Nehls was found guilty of misdemeanor attempted theft related to the purchase of gasoline for personal use and paid court-ordered restitution in the amount of $1,684.

Auditor Faber in April issued a finding for recovery against Nehls for $3,030 in favor of the City of Vermilion Street Maintenance & Repair fund.

“It is unacceptable to fill a personal gas tank on the taxpayer’s dime,” Auditor Faber said. “Working with our local government partners, we will continue to root out this kind of abuse to restore trust in government.”