Ex-safety officials stole, says sheriff

A former fire communications official and former sheriff’s lieutenant from Riverside County are expected to be arraigned today on charges of embezzling at least $1 million in cash and fire equipment from the county Fire Department.

Michael Acle Burton, 55, a former Riverside County fire communications manager, and Steven Vaughn, 61, a former sheriff’s lieutenant who later worked for the Fire Department, were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of falsifying records and embezzling the money and equipment. The investigation into the alleged crimes, which took place over several years, began in 2004, authorities said.

Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle said Tuesday that the investigation was launched when then-Riverside County Fire Chief Craig Anthony told sheriff’s officials he had discovered irregularities in the department’s books.

“It was a pretty complicated and intense investigation,” Doyle said, adding that his investigators interviewed vendors and seized records, purchasing orders and computer hard drives.

“It involved a lot of records and internal department transfers -- where equipment was being charged off to the Riverside County Fire Department that wasn’t actually going into fire vehicles,” he said.

When sheriff’s officials turned the case over to the Riverside County district attorney’s office in April, Doyle said, his investigators could show that between $750,000 and $1 million had been misappropriated.

Burton and Vaughn are in custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center.

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