Pa. mayor accused of stealing from fire company

NAZARETH, Pa. (WPVI) -- The mayor of an eastern Pennsylvania borough was arraigned on a felony theft charge on Tuesday stemming from his role as president of a local fire company.

Nazareth Mayor Carl Strye Jr. surrendered at a district judge's office in the Northampton County borough and was freed on unsecured bail.

Prosecutors said the charges involve allegations that $8,000 was taken from the social club of the Vigilance Hose Company, which Strye headed for 27 years.

District Attorney John Morganelli says there was a complaint that some club gambling proceeds seemed to be missing after Strye left.

He says Strye was called before a grand jury.

"As we started to get close to the situation, the mayor did admit he falsified various documents and kept, what he admitted to, was approximately $8,000 in cash."

Strye declined to talk about his grand jury appearance outside the judge's office.

"I'm not going to comment on that because that will all come out in the future," Strye said.

The current president of the social club said he is disappointed criminal charges had to be filed in this case, but said he believed Strye had violated the trust of club members.