A former treasurer and fire instructor with the Sarver Volunteer Fire Company has already paid the $147,310 in restitution he was ordered to pay Tuesday when he was sentenced for stealing from the fire company.

William R. George, 68, of Tarentum, was sentenced to serve 18 months probation and pay the restitution, which his attorney said he already paid, after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft by unlawful taking filed by state police in December 2022.

Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Kubit imposed the sentence, which was the result of a plea agreement.

In a victim impact statement, Randy Richter, assistant chief and president of the Sarver Volunteer Firefighters Relief Association, said George was a valued member of the company until “this.” He said George was a fire instructor who trained him and many other firefighters over the years, and obtained grants for the company.

He said the department does not believe a jail sentence is necessary.

“We hope he learned his lesson,” Richter said.

He said the company’s objective was to get the money back, and the company has become stronger by monitoring its finances since the theft.

Kubit said he had mixed emotions in imposing the sentence. He said George has done “tremendous good” in the community, and it is his understanding that at least part of the reason George took the money is because his late wife lost her ability to work, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior. He said he is disappointed.

“It is with a heavy heart that I see you in this situation,” Kubit said, “... I’m disappointed this happened.”

George did not speak at the sentencing hearing.

The restitution order includes $72,310 to the fire company and $75,000 to insurance company VFIS Glatfelter Claims of York.

George served as the fire company’s treasurer from 2015 to 2022. In October 2022, a member of the fire company reported a theft involving the company’s bank account and a series of suspicious ATM withdrawals and transactions were present on the company’s bank statements.

Police said withdrawals were made mostly at PNC Bank ATMs from Tarentum to Kittanning.

Police obtained bank statements from September 2015 to 2022 and ATM surveillance video when they served a search warrant to PNC Bank in Natrona Heights in October 2022. Police said only one debit card was associated with the account.

ATM withdrawals and fees on the statements totaled $142,208, and video surveillance shows George withdrawing money from the ATM, according to police.

In addition to the ATM withdrawals, police said statements showed a tax payment for $4,977 and a $124 fee on a residence registered to George, according to police.