EMS director fired after finding $100K in ‘financial irregularities’

In a 2021 letter, now-former director Chris O’Leath accused a former Freeport EMS treasurer of stealing the funds and then repaying the agency

By Rachel Engel

FREEPORT, Pa. — The executive director of Freeport EMS was fired after discovering nearly $100,000 in “financial irregularities.”

In 2020, then-Executive Editor Chris O’Leath was given access to the agency’s finances, where he found 62 unauthorized transactions from January 2017 to May 2020 that added up to more than $97,000, Trib Live reported.

An investigation into the matter is ongoing, and officials are waiting on the results of a third-party forensic audit of the agency’s books. (Photo/Freeport EMS)

In a letter sent to the news agency in 2021, O’Leath accused former treasurer Justin DeAngelis of stealing the money and later repaying the agency.

Mayor Jim Swartz confirmed O’Leath’s termination but added a caveat: “I don’t care if you’re a director, you still have bosses and when you are told to do things, you do things.”

O’Leath declined to comment on his termination, and is reportedly looking into this legal options.

An investigation into the matter is ongoing, and officials are waiting on the results of a third-party forensic audit of the agency’s books, State Trooper Anthony Vaccaro said.