By Robert Patrick
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The former administrator of the Washington County Ambulance District and his wife stole tens of thousands of dollars from the district in multiple ways, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Thursday.
William “Mal” Gum, 58, and Charlena “Charli” Gum, 43, both of Potosi, were indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis for access device fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud and federal program theft. Mal Gum was also indicted on four more counts of federal program theft.
Prosecutors say that Gum paid himself more in salary from 2012-2016 than was authorized by the district’s board.
The indictment says that during that same period, the district paid more than $20,000 in health insurance premiums for Gum’s dependents, who were not supposed to be covered by the district.
Gum and his wife, who was also a district employee, used district credit cards for more than $5,000 in personal purchases during about six weeks in the fall of 2014, prosecutors said. Those purchases included music CDs, underwear and lingerie, clothing and 32 gift cards worth a total of $2,465, the indictment says.
The current district administrator, Justin Duncan, said he and the board were “saddened, but not surprised” by news of the indictments. Duncan said he was brought in by the board in November 2016, and Mal Gum officially retired in February.
After Gum left, financial concerns were identified and a forensic audit confirmed officials’ fears, Duncan said. The district then contacted law enforcement, he said.
Duncan said that the district does not have a total amount that is alleged to have been lost under Gum.
He said that historically, the district has had a “tight budget.” Employees hadn’t received raises and were “some of the lowest-paid providers in the area,” he said.
But Duncan said in the last year, “the budget has looked a lot better and we were able to give raises this year ... and move the district into a positive direction.”
Duncan said that it was “clearly appropriate” that a law enforcement agency from outside the county perform the investigation, as Gum has been in area law enforcement for decades. He was ambulance district administrator since it was formed in the 1980s, Duncan said, and was also the county coroner.
The investigation was handled by the FBI and the Jefferson County sheriff’s office, prosecutors said.
The district is located at 6900 Bill Gum Boulevard near Potosi.
Gum is currently listed as a captain in the Potosi Police Department, where his son is the chief. Gum was already captain, and functioning as the assistant chief, when his son was named chief, Duncan said.
The Gums were arrested Thursday morning, and appeared in federal court that afternoon, shackled at the wrists and ankles. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nicole Collins told both they were forbidden from possessing firearms and using illegal drugs or alcohol. She also ordered Mal Gum to resign by Friday, saying, “I’m not going to allow you to work as a police officer while this case is pending.”
Both told Collins they did not have lawyers.
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