John Goble, Sr., former Street Superintendent for the Town of Hamlet, was recently arrested on a warrant for theft.
Police say that in January, Goble and his son, John Goble, Jr., resigned their positions with the street department after a disagreement with the Hamlet Town Board and the Board appointed Town Marshal Frank Lonigro III as the temporary Street Superintendent until a full-time replacement was found.
Lonigro was told by the Town Board members to conduct an inventory of all town equipment with the Street Department. Lonigro could not find a current equipment inventory list so he contacted Smith Farm Store, where most of the town's equipment is purchased, to get a list of receipts for 2011. Lonigro reportedly found that equipment purchased and was signed for by John Goble, Sr. was unaccounted for in an inventory check. Alleged items that have not been accounted for totals $1,358.65.
A letter was sent to Goble by the Town Board's Attorney in regards to the findings and on February 7th, it was noted that he returned five items. Goble also said in a letter to the attorney that all town equipment is stored at one of two places and the items could be located there. When checked, none of the alleged missing items were found.
The police report was forwarded to the Starke County Prosecutor's Office and after review, Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff filed a Class D Felony charge of Theft against Goble and a bench warrant was issued. Goble was subsequently arrested and pleaded not guilty in Starke Circuit Court on Friday.