Ex-Butler Fire Inspector Begins Pre-Trial Intervention Program

Butler's former fire inspector, indicted on charges of falsifying inspection reports and official misconduct, was admitted into the Morris County Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) Program on Monday.

Earl Dean, 64, has been suspended from the Butler Fire Department since his arrest in March 2011 and, according to the Daily Record, has agreed to forfeit his public position and never seek a public position again. Additionally, the Daily Record reported Dean will be required to complete 100 hours of community service and be on probation for one year.

Read the full story from the Daily Record here.

Dean was officially indicted on charges of second-degree official misconduct, third-degree tampering with public records and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with public records after officials said he falsified reports for several Butler businesses.

In December 2011, Dean's attorney, Al Gellene, rejected a plea bargain on Dean's behalf which would have included PTI, a program typically offered to first-time offenders in lieu of jail time. However, Dean later requested and was granted admittance into the program.

Despite the charges, the Butler Fire Department's Kinney Hose Co. sought to elect Dean as their company chief in 2011 and have him run in the department election last December, but Dean was deemed ineligible.