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PITTSTON — A former treasurer for Germania Hose Co. in Duryea was charged Wednesday with stealing more than $102,000 from the first responder agency by writing and forging checks to himself since 2009.

Eric John Wruble, 42, allegedly admitted to police in Duryea to stealing cash to pay personal bills and buying a 2009 Dodge pickup truck, and using a Germania credit card to purchase gas-powered lawn tools.

Police said Wruble cooperated with the investigation by providing personal bank statements, receipts and surrendering the lawn tools.

Wruble told police he had trouble paying bills when his grandmother was placed in a hospice and his mother became ill. He also claimed he was unemployed for several months, court records say.

Germania officials notified police in August when they discovered alleged irregularities in their bank accounts that showed Wruble wrote and forged checks to himself. Officials reviewed their accounts after a long time bookkeeper passed away.

According to the criminal complaint:

Wruble told police he began writing checks to himself when he had trouble paying bills related to his grandmother and mother’s health issues. He claimed he had other Germania members pre-sign checks at different times as the hose company required two signatures on each check.

Wruble would write in the “Memo” section of each check “roof repair,” “drain repair,” “masonry repair,” or “water heater replacement” as a way to track how much money he had taken from the hose company.

Wruble explained his wife was not aware of the alleged thefts as he handled his family’s finances.

Police said Wruble used a credit card assigned to Germania to purchase a chain saw and a leaf blower.

An audit of Germania’s accounts revealed Wruble had taken money from the apparatus and building fund accounts, and deposited the funds into several personal accounts.

One of those accounts Wruble opened in November 2012 was a $27,374.85 loan when he purchased a 2009 Dodge pickup. Police learned the Dodge was repossessed in December 2014.

Germania’s bank records showed Wruble wrote and forged 168 checks from 2009 to August.

He was arraigned by District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz in Pittston on 187 counts of forgery, 135 counts of access device fraud, seven counts of secure execution of documents by deception, and one count each of theft, receiving stolen property and unsworn falsification to authorities.

He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $50,000 bail.

Wruble
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Eric-Wruble-FB-1.jpg.optimal.jpgWruble

Eric Wruble is escorted into district court in Pittston on Wednesday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Eric-Wruble-11282018-1.jpg.optimal.jpgEric Wruble is escorted into district court in Pittston on Wednesday. Ed Lewis | Times Leader

By Ed Lewis

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