CASPER — The former Bar Nunn fire chief admitted on Thursday to stealing nearly $11,000 from the department, including $2,660 from the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (2024) Fill the Boot drive.
The admission was part of a plea agreement in which Robert William Hoover, 57, pleaded guilty to official misconduct. In exchange, Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Brandon Rosty dropped three additional charges.
Rosty described the deal to Natrona County Judge Catherine Wilking, in which Hoover pleaded guilty to felony theft and official misconduct in exchange for a second theft charge, as well as the dismissal of charges of credit card fraud and interference with a peace officer.
The prosecutor stated that 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 stated, adding that Hoover will also be required to pay a $500 fine for official misconduct.
Defense Attorney Keith Nachbar told the judge that his client agreed to pay the restitution, and then broke it down into:
$2,660 for an MDA boot drive.
$2,652 for theft from the fire department’s Christmas Club account.
A Polaris RZR costs more than $5,500
Hoover, dressed in a tan shirt and jeans, informed the judge that he understood the terms of the plea agreement and the penalties involved.
Judge Wilkins informed Hoover that she is not a “party” to the plea agreement and that if his presentence investigation raises her concerns, she may reject it, but he is free to withdraw his plea.
Guilty Pleas
Hoover later pleaded guilty to both 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 replied.
Hoover told the judge that he took $2,600 from the fundraiser and gave the rest to MDA.
As Hoover began to discuss how he used fire department funds to make other purchases to prove his guilt on the misconduct charge, Nachbar cut him off.
The attorney asked the judge to use the “factual basis” of the theft charge to prove his guilt on the misconduct charge.
Wilkins then ruled that Hoover had complied with the law in terms of guilt on the two charges and dismissed the three remaining charges.
She stated that she would order a presentence investigation.
Emptying the Boot
The charges against Hoover stem from a Wyoming Highway Patrol employee who served on the fire department informing the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office of concerns about the 2024 Fill the Boot fundraiser, which will take place between August 30 and September 11, 2024.
Bar Nunn firefighters told NCSO Cpl. Kenneth Jividen that Hoover initially claimed the department raised $7,327 from the drive but only sent a check to MDA for $4,667.
Hoover had set up a separate bank account for the fire department from the city, and he handled the department’s finances either alone or with his daughter and son-in-law.
Following the fundraiser, Hoover informed the investigator that there was no formal process for counting the donated funds and denied providing other firefighters with an exact figure of $7,327 raised for MDA at a fire department meeting.
He explained that he simply took all of the collected money to the bank to be counted.
Bank Evidence
According to the affidavit, bank video showed him arriving with bills neatly stacked and secured with rubber bands, but no coins.
Interviews with his daughter and son-in-law initially revealed that after the boot fundraiser, the money was taken to the fire department to be counted, and they assisted Hoover in doing so, Jividen wrote.
His daughter later told investigators that her father asked her to lie about going to the fire department, and that the money was counted at his home.
Hoover also sold a Polaris RZR 800 side-by-side to the department for $5,500, despite the fact that a captain told him it was unnecessary and did not approve of the purchase.
A Casper firm later estimated the value of the machine, which was damaged, at $3,500 to $4,000.
An investigation into the fire department’s bank account by three members of the department revealed 43 “suspicious” expenditures totaling $20,317.15.
The affidavit also lists 13 “fraudulent” transactions, which included restaurant purchases, Walmart groceries, medications, cleaning products, a vacuum, and a purchase of the feminine hygiene product Vagisil.
The investigation into Hoover resulted in his termination from both his town maintenance job and his position as fire chief.
