Hartford employee charged with theft

Authorities arrested a Hartford town employee was arrested recently and charged with stealing more than $7,000 while he worked for the Geneva County town.

Geneva County Assistant District Attorney Stephen Smith said Richard Powell, 39, of West Burch Street, was arrested last week and charged with first-degree theft of property. Powell was released Wednesday after he posted a $10,000 bond.

Smith said police charged Powell with stealing $7,703 from the town over the past two months. Smith said Powell worked for the town of Hartford as the street superintendent.

Smith said that as part of his job Powell is in charge of selling scrap metal for the town, including copper, and is charged with not turning in the money made from the sale of the metal.