The former chief of the Gilbertsville Area Community Ambulance Service (GACAS), who is accused of embezzling more than $8,500 from the agency, waived his right Tuesday afternoon to a preliminary hearing before Douglass Township District Judge Maurice Saylor.

            Garry R. Schmoltze, Sr., 68, of Lower Pottsgrove, faces 66 criminal counts, including one felony count each for theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practice, and two counts of unauthorized access to a device along with 61 similar misdemeanors.

            The Douglass Township Police Department arrested Schmoltze on June 9 following a joint investigation with Montgomery County Detectives. He is accused of accumulating more than $8,529.66 in unauthorized charges on organization credit cards over 26 months.

            Schmoltze, who had led GACAS since 2009 and has worked for the Montgomery County Coroner's Office since 1998, is accused of using his position for his personal benefit by using a company-issued Elan Visa Business Card for personal use.

            Local authorities took Schmoltze into custody Friday, June 9 following a joint investigation with Montgomery County Detectives. They filed charges against him one day earlier in the Douglass Township court.

            Douglass Township police claim the service's former chief made illegal purchases with two credit cards. All counts date back to April 30, 2021, according to information posted on a state judicial website.

            Schmoltze – through his attorney, Christopher Daniels – declined to force the prosecution to put on a hearing, designed to convince a judge that a criminal offense has occurred and that reasonable suspicion exists that the defendant committed it. Sitting at the defense table inside the courtroom, he spoke only to his attorney.

            Wearing a light blue collared shirt with a royal blue tie, khaki-colored pants and black dress shoes, Schmoltze spent less than 10 minutes before Saylor. As the defendant signed legal paperwork at the desk, Daniels – a former assistant district attorney – and the judge discussed unrelated issues.

            Dirk Boughter, a detective with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, appeared on behalf of the prosecution. Boughter and Robert Evans, a detective for Douglass Township police, are listed as the arresting officers in the police criminal complaint.

            Daniels, an attorney based in Whitpain Township, declined to comment on the case following the hearing. A formal arraignment at the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court in Norristown has been scheduled for Aug. 23, according to Saylor.

            Schmoltze remains free on bail of $5,000 unsecured set during a June 9 preliminary arraignment by Pottstown District Judge Scott T. Palladino, according to information posted on a state judicial website.

            On July 16, 2022, a Douglass Township supervisor notified a detective with the municipal police department of possible fraud that had been occurring with the ambulance service, located at 91 Jackson Road. The supervisor also informed law enforcement officials that Schmoltze was allegedly involved in access device fraud and that service employees were also concerned for their safety due to multiple firearms and ammunition believed to be on the premises.

            Employees at the ambulance service voiced concern over the credit card activity found and recent changes at this facility. They also told police Schmoltze changed access on the key fob system to deny access to an office area employees were previously able to access, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

            During a meeting later that day at the ambulance building, treasurer Rochelle Gresh told the detective that Schmoltze transported the firearms, which are not permitted on the premises, to his residence for temporary safekeeping. Gresh also reported that Schmoltze made personal purchases utilizing the Visa card connected to the service.

            According to the treasurer, the service suffered from a lack of income. Gresh told investigators two separate PPP loans (the COVID relief plan), totaling $170,000 kept it operational.

            The influx of money from Douglass Township stopped in 2019. It returned in the next year or two, but at a lower rate, possibly $15,000. In 2022, the township's board offered to assist the service with its financial shortcoming, possibly by way of inclusion with a fire and/or EMS tax.

            Five months earlier, after observing questionable credit card charges for approximately $1,500, Gresh verified a conversation with Schmoltze, who admitted to the personal charges and agreed to repay the debt in full. However, they were never paid, according to the legal document.

            On July 15, 2022, Schmoltze rejected a request by two service employees to "see the books." That night, the ALS coordinator and the bookkeeper gained access to his office by circumventing the locking mechanism. They claim to have discovered multiple credit card statements and certain receipts.

            They also observed military bags, quick-clot, tourniquets, people-moving devices, trauma dressings, splints, basic first aid supplies, handguns and ammunition, a drone, military-style binoculars, and fuel canisters.

             One of the employees questioned why the first-aid materials were not put on any of the ambulances, but rather were being stored in the locked office, according to the legal document.

            Six days later, three employees went through certain bills for the annual audit. They observed numerous transactions for EZ Script (not used by GACAS to purchase medicine), Wawa gift cards (not distributed to GACAS employees), Amazon purchases including Roku (streaming service), Suburban Propane (filling at both 91 Jackson Road and at Garry Schmoltze's Lower Pottsgrove residence), men's XXXL underwear, size 13E men's boots, binoculars, drones, and bags. They also found an American Express account that was tax-exempt and that Schmoltze was the only authorized user.

            John Doucette, the agency's OSHA Compliance Officer and billing manager who became the acting chief, told police he received numerous text messages and digital photos from the assistant chief of items discovered inside Schmoltze's office the following day. They included office go bags, ammunition, knives, rope, bandages, flex cuffs (which the assistant chief suspected were not supplies for GACAS-related purposes) paid for with the American Express card.

            On July 17, 2022, the service's board of directors voted to remove Schmoltze during an emergency meeting.  The decision came after the board discovered that Schmoltze owed the service more than $2,000 for a home heating oil bill and an unknown amount of unauthorized credit card purchases.

            The board voted to shut down the service for two days and five hours, and Doucette agreed to be acting chief of operations. Three members – President Kim Schweitzer; Brian Steffie, the recording secretary and a current member of the Douglass Township Police Department, as well as Gresh – resigned shortly after the meeting.