Ex-Bucks Co. Rescue Squad Chief Pleads To Theft

BRISTOL, PA — The former chief of the Bucks County Rescue Squad has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $157,000 while he was head of the organization.

Scott Mel Bahner, 49, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a felony charge of theft by unlawful taking and a misdemeanor charge of access device fraud, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's office.

His sentencing was deferred for three months. Prosecutors plan to seek restitution at the time he is sentenced.

Bahner was charged in May of forging checks to himself and his wife, using rescue squad credit cards for personal expenses and faking payroll reports. According to prosecutors, he stole more than $157,000 over the course of nearly a decade, using the money to make payments to the National Rifle Association, buy firearms, pay a Florida drug-rehab center and more.

Over nine years, he stole $127,942.28 from the rescue squad, prosecutors say. He served as the squad's chief from Jan. 1, 2009 through July 2018, when he was earning a salary of $79,000. He stole $87,000 of that by issuing 70 fraudulent checks to himself and his wife, according to the DA's office.

Separate from the rescue squad thefts, the DA's office said, Bahner also stole more than $29,000 from Bristol Township while working as a community service officer. The part-time position involved on-site work and running errands for the police department.

He started that job in October 2014 and, in August 2017, township police investigated apparent discrepancies in his time records and found he had submitted payment requests for more than 1,777 hours that he had not actually worked.