United States (Vermont) - Charged with members of his family in a volunteer fire department embezzlement scandal, Thaxton resident Cory Mitchell Shifflett threw himself on the mercy of the court Tuesday. He wants to take responsibility and make things right, Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz said after a Circuit Court hearing in which Shifflett pleaded guilty to seven charges of embezzlement.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors made no plea agreement with Shifflett. A sentencing date has not been set.

The guilty pleas came four months after Shifflett, his father and his father's wife were indicted on charges of taking for their own use an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 intended for the Hardy Volunteer Fire Department.

A day after the indictments were issued, Jeffrey Lee Shifflett, 51, the 22-year chief of the Hardy department and an assistant fire marshal for the county, died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been indicted on one count of forgery and 13 counts of embezzlement.

His wife, Deborah Lynne Shifflett, 38, was charged with 13 counts of embezzlement. A Vinton resident, she is scheduled for trial Jan. 19.

Krantz said Jeffrey Shifflett's years of work with the fire department included much that had helped the county. But he was elected chief for life -- an unusual situation for the county's volunteer departments, Krantz said -- and somewhere along the way "a consolidation of power in one person and a sense of entitlement" led to problems, Krantz said.

Krantz said investigators think that the misuse of department money may have begun before 2007, but that the evidence from that point forward was sufficient to take to trial.

Investigators have said the Shiffletts used department money for their own expenses, including buying a gun at a pawn shop, and clothing and other items from Gander Mountain, Sportsman's Warehouse, Walmart and other businesses. Jeffrey Shifflett was accused of issuing checks to himself to cover training costs, but no records indicated such training occurred.

Krantz said Cory Shifflett probably was responsible for no more than $10,000 of the misspent money. He likely acted at his father's direction, though Shifflett did not offer that as an excuse, Krantz said.

Shifflett's attorney, Darren Shoen, could not be contacted after the hearing.

The Shiffletts' case prompted the Bedford County Board of Supervisors last summer to adopt a new fiscal accountability policy for groups that receive county money.

Written by The Roanoke Times