Former Somers fire chief faces felony charges

The former chief of the Somers-Lakeside Volunteer Fire Department faces allegations of embezzling more than $13,000 from department funds over the course of three years.

Somers resident Robert W. Kienas, 50, pleaded not guilty to one count of felony theft in Flathead County District Court in October.

Kienas is accused of misappropriating funds from department bank accounts between January 2005 and September 2007.

This includes checks for $2,600 written to area businesses such as grocery stores, bars, restaurants and casinos.

He is also accused of cashing an additional $8,600 in checks above and beyond his monthly stipends of roughly $200 from the department for expenses such as fuel. Other funds were withdrawn from department accounts or received as cash back on deposits.

The funds he allegedly stole came from department donations, not funds provided by taxpayers, according to what representatives ing to what representatives from the Somers-Lakeside Volunteer Fire Department Association told investigators.

If convicted, Kienas could face up to 10 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.

Kienas will next appear before Flathead County District Judge Katherine R. Curtis at a pretrial hearing Dec. 2. A jury trial for this case has been scheduled for Feb. 1.

Kienas has suffered two serious lung injuries for smoke inhalation while fighting fires, which led to a heart attack in 1992.

With medical bills he couldn’t pay, Kienas declared medical bankruptcy in 1996 and went on Social Security disability.

He began training firefighters and became the Somers Fire chief in 2001.

Department response

Since the embezzlement was discovered, the fire department has made efforts to ensure that a similar theft couldn’t happen again.

The department now has a control system on its accounts, with one person authorized to sign checks and another person who keeps the accounting books derived from bank statements, said Capt. Bill Brass.

The department will now also conduct annual audits internally to prevent other errors, he said.

These structural changes in how the department handles money were agreed upon by members of the association and have been added to the department’s by-laws.