The Westchester County district attorney’s office has closed its investigation into the former treasurer of the downtown Harrison Fire Department, William Powell, who was ousted from the department last year.
A March 24 letter from Assistant District Attorney Stephen Ronco to Powell’s attorney, Andrew Rubin, says that the office closed its investigation after finding insufficient evidence to support charges that Powell had misused Fire Department funds.
When reached by phone this week, the district attorney’s office declined to comment or any offer specifics related to the investigation. And there are no other details related to the case available, as of press time.
Powell, a volunteer, was removed from the office of treasurer and from the Fire Department in May 2016, in an unrelated matter, after being suspended the month prior for dereliction of duty, related to the department’s loss of its nonprofit status on Powell’s watch. In 2013, the department automatically lost its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status after not filing the requisite forms with the IRS dating back to 2009. The department had previously had status as a charitable organization since 1993 or earlier. But following the loss of that status, the department was required to pay taxes on all donations it received. According to Vito Faga, the president of the Fire Department, the department’s non-profit status has recently been restored.
Powell had been a volunteer in the downtown Fire Department for decades, and had served as chief of the department in 2004. He owns several restaurants in the downtown area including Powell’s Catering, Halstead Avenue Beer Garden and the newly re-opened Wellington’s Grill.
The downtown Fire Department is a mostly volunteer organization, consisting of more than 50 volunteer members and supplemented by a dozen paid professionals. It has a budget of $4.15 million for fiscal year 2017.
Neither Rubin nor John Masciola, chief of the downtown Fire Department, could be reached for comment as of press time.
