Facing two felony counts for allegedly working while receiving state disability benefits, Youngstown fire Lt. Patrick Bundy took a deal, pleading guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor of criminal mischief.

Bundy resolved his criminal case Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in front of Judge Michael J. Holbrook, who handled the sentencing for Judge Kim J. Brown, who was overseeing Bundy’s case.

Bundy, 46, of Van Drive in Poland, worked out a plea agreement with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which handled his case on behalf of the state Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. A Franklin County grand jury on Feb. 20 indicted Bundy on fifth-degree felony charges of workers compensation fraud and theft.

He was accused of accepting $5,880 in improper compensation from BWC.

The deal worked out with the attorney general’s office had the theft charge dismissed and the workers’ compensation fraud charge reduced to criminal mischief.

Bundy “paid full restitution” of the $5,880 and “his community control was terminated at sentencing,” said Dominic Binkley, an attorney general spokesman.

Prior to Tuesday’s sentencing, Bundy was free on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond.

Bundy is serving an unpaid six-week suspension from the fire department. The suspension started April 20 with Bundy reporting back to work June 1. The firefighters union filed a grievance objecting to the unpaid suspension.

Bundy’s predisciplinary hearing was March 7 with fire Chief Barry Finley informing him April 14 of the suspension.

Hired by the Youngstown Fire Department on Feb. 14, 2010, Bundy’s annual salary is $68,183. The six-week suspension will cost him close to $7,900 if the union grievance doesn’t overturn it.

The attorney general’s office contended Bundy worked for EFI Global as a fire inspector while also receiving workers’ compensation benefits from Jan. 16, 2022, to Feb. 26, 2022, he “was not entitled” to obtain or “presented a false or misleading statement with the purpose to secure” those benefits “with purpose to defraud or knowing he was facilitating a fraud.”

Bundy’s unpaid suspension is for six weeks, which is the exact amount of time he is accused of improperly collecting workers’ compensation benefits while working for EFI Global.

The attorney general’s office contended Bundy “signed and submitted multiple applications for temporary total disability benefits wherein he indicated that he was not working since he was injured. In addition, the defendant made multiple misrepresentations regarding his work activity to the BWC and / or its representatives.”

On four different occasions, Bundy filed appeals of workers’ compensation cases in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against Youngstown for two different incidents after his claims were rejected by the BWC and the Ohio Industrial Commission.

Two cases involved a Sept. 24, 2020, incident in which Bundy said he was injured when responding to a structure fire and the ceiling collapsed on him. Two other cases were filed after Bundy claimed he was injured when he slipped and fell on Feb. 1, 2021 while on the job.

In all of the cases, the city disputed the claims.

Those cases were ultimately dismissed by Bundy after he and the city learned that the attorney general’s office was not willing to pay any settlement due to his pending fraud claim.

Bundy was also arrested April 3, 2023, by the Portage County Sheriff’s Office and charged with assaulting a vehicle towing business employee in Deerfield.

Kevin T. Poland, a Portage County Municipal Court judge, found Bundy guilty of attempted assault, a second-degree misdemeanor. Bundy was given a 90-day suspended jail sentence, fined $500 with $450 of it suspended and placed on probation for a year.

Bundy wasn’t disciplined by the city for that conviction.

BELLAMY CASE

Meanwhile, Youngstown firefighter Adaris Bellamy remains on unpaid suspension as he faces two first-degree misdemeanor counts of aggravated menacing for incidents that allegedly happened in Warren Township.

Bellamy’s unpaid suspension started May 9 with Finley saying it will last until his case is resolved.

Bellamy, 34, of Longview Drive NE in Howland, makes $63,614 annually in salary.

Bellamy’s next appearance in Warren Municipal Court is scheduled for June 27.

Bellamy was arrested April 7 on one aggravated menacing charge for allegedly having a rifle at the Warren Township Fire Department and pointing it at someone in the West Market Street building.

Bellamy was also accused of pointing the rifle at a man at a food donation box shortly after leaving the fire station.

After Bellamy’s arrest, he was put on paid suspension while Finley reviewed the matter. Finley held a predisciplinary hearing on April 17.

During an April 18 court appearance in front of Judge Patty Knepp, a second aggravated menacing charge was added with prosecutors saying it was inadvertently omitted from the initial filing.

Bellamy, who pleaded not guilty to the two charges, is out on a $15,000 surety bond.

During his April 8 arraignment, Judge Natasha K. Natale ordered Bellamy to have no contact with the Warren Township Fire Department except for emergency purposes and to surrender all firearms to the township’s police department while his case is pending.