Ex-Newportville Chief’s Theft Case Heads To Trial Ahead Of Township Vote

The former chief of the Newportville Fire Company will head to trial for allegedly misusing more than $30,000 in the organization’s funds.

Frederick R. Black, 55, of Bristol Township, saw District Judge John Galloway hold charges of theft, access device use unauthorized by issuer, misapply entrusted property, and receiving stolen property to the Court of Common Pleas.

The case, which was originally charged in December of last year, stems from allegations Black misappropriated money from the volunteer Newportville Fire Company in Bristol Township.

Black, who served with the company for over 30 years, was the treasurer from 2017 until November 2024 and also as chief.

Galloway forwarded the charges, but he made clear he felt the prosecution had presented a weak case. However, it met the prima facie, which means “at first sight” in Latin, standard to move the charges ahead.

The district judge called the evidence “a cloud, a blur,” and he also chided the fire company for what seemed to be lax record keeping and a weak internal investigation.

In his comments from the bench, Galloway called the fire company “a dumpster fire” and said its management appeared “bad” and incompetent.

At Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, the prosecution alleged that Black knowingly used company accounts to purchase items such as New Kids on the Block concert tickets, clothing, outside furniture, and lottery tickets.

Michele Prickett testified against Black, a man she has known through the fire company for years.

Prickett, who is a firefighter and trustee for the Newportville Fire Company, said she became suspicious of the alleged actions by Black around 2022 and that there was an audit committee formed to investigate in 2025. She served on the audit committee with her husband and another fire company member.

Prickett explained how the fire company investigated apparent unauthorized spending that they allege was done by Black, who previously served on the Bristol Township School Board.

Black is accused of unauthorized spending and withdrawals from fire company accounts, including one holding general and fundraising revenues, a fire tax income account, and a federal stipend account.

There allegedly was use of fire company accounts at Lucky 7 deli and Wawa, she testified.

Prickett said there would be no reason to make those unauthorized purchases and withdraws. She added that most purchases would have been reviewed or approved ahead of time by fire company leadership or line officers. In addition, receipts for the spending should have been submitted.

In her testimony, Prickett said she knew Black liked poker, while the prosecution noted some card-related items were purchased using fire company funds.

The defense noted there was no evidence the items were not used as a raffle giveaway.

Upon cross examination by the defense, Prickett indicated limited records by fire company made it difficult. The audit committee asked members to recall if items allegedly purchases by Black, like children’s clothes, were used for any fire company purpose.

Prickett testified that tools and uniforms are purchased through pre-selected vendors and not obtained through Amazon.

Black paid back the fire company $1,000 as part of a reimbursement for the New Kids on the Block ticket purchases, which totaled roughly $2,500, it was stated in court.

On the stand, Prickett said Black was asked for receipts or proof that purchases were made for the fire company. Almost no evidence was provided to the committee by the ex-chief and Black didn’t attend important meetings with the committee.

Prickett said there are strict rules on how local and federal fire funds can be used and many of the unauthorized purchases, which she believes Black made for himself, violated fire company and federal rules.

Bristol Township Detective Alexander Asmann said he pulled fire company account records and Amazon records as part of his investigation. He met with the fire company’s audit committee to review what purchases were believed to be unauthorized.

Asmann testified there were “substantial” withdrawals from area stores using fire company accounts linked to Black. He also showed evidence hundreds of items were sent to Black’s home address.

It was revealed in court that Bristol Township police, who investigated the case for months, did not execute a search warrant at Black’s home to recover any of the items law enforcement alleges were purchased with fire company funds.

Deputy District Attorney A.J. Garabedian maintained throughout the hearing that Black used fire company funds to purchase items, including a tiki statue and a DeWalt tool that was spotted in a drone photo on the ex-fire chief’s property.

The hearing ended with the defense for Black asking for charges to be dismissed on the basis that police and the fire company did not provide evidence to prove that Black stole money from the company.

Paul Lang, Black’s attorney, said the district attorney’s office showed “jack” that the former fire chief committed crimes. He said many of the purchases made in Black’s name and shipped to his home could have been for station use or for fundraising raffles, adding tools may have been stolen or gone missing.

Lang, who said Black is not guilty, showed off fire company Facebook posts from around the time that hundreds of dollars in cash withdrawals from a convenience store were made. The posts showed the fire company was using hundreds of dollars in lottery tickets as a raffle prize.

In his argument, Lang said purchased made on Amazon in Black’s name were because the fire chief had multiple cards in the account and not as part of a plan to steal.

The defense attorney said the case by prosecutors was based on “vibes” and the fire company’s “ignorance is not a crime.”

Garabedian, the prosecutor, told the judge only the fraction of the evidence shown Wednesday proves a crime was committed.

“They didn’t prove that he wants to throw his life away,” Galloway said, adding the prosecution, however, did have enough evidence to move forward to trial.

Bristol Township Council is set to vote Thursday evening to end township funding for the Newportville Fire Company and remove it from its dispatch roster due to numerous operational issues, including Black’s theft.

Fire company officials have said they’ve turned the organization around and are appealing to the council to keep the fire department another chance, noting that being cut off from the township would effectively shutter the fire company.