Thomas Stritzel, Public Corruption, Missouri 2023

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St. Louis Park Rangers Chief Sentenced for $472,722 Fraud Scheme

In a shocking turn of events, Thomas Stritzel, the former Chief of the St. Louis Park Rangers, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for his involvement in a brazen fraud scheme that defrauded the City of St. Louis of $472,722.

According to court documents, Stritzel and Joseph Vacca, the former Deputy Commissioner of the St. Louis Parks Division, embezzled funds from the city by submitting false invoices for materials and services supplied to the Parks Division. The scheme, which ran from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2012, included false charges of approximately $472,722.

Stritzel and Vacca set up a sham company called Dynamic Management and funneled city funds received through the submission of false and sham invoices to the company’s bank account. They then used those fraudulently obtained funds for their own personal use, including leasing personal vehicles, payment of fuel costs, and the payment of personal credit card charges.

The scheme was eventually discovered, and Stritzel was charged with his role in the fraud. He appeared before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson in St. Louis, where he was sentenced to 36 months in prison.

Stritzel was also ordered to pay restitution of $472,722 to the City of St. Louis. This is not the first time Stritzel has been involved in a scandal, as his former partner, Joseph Vacca, was sentenced in December to 36 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $472,722.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The sentencing of Stritzel serves as a reminder of the importance of holding public officials accountable for their actions. It is clear that Stritzel and Vacca abused their positions of trust to defraud the City of St. Louis of a significant amount of money.

We will continue to follow this story and provide updates as more information becomes available.