Tallahassee firefighter, police officer arrested in charity probe

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee Fire Department member and a Tallahassee Police Department officer have been found guilty in a charity scheme. 

Joseph "Mike" Amison, a TFD firefighter, and his wife, Jennifer Amison, a TPD officer, were found guilty of racketeering, 2 counts of grand theft more than $10,000, organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and failure to apply contributions in a manner consistent with solicitation.

A sentencing date has been set for March 27, 2018 at 1:30 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee Fire Department member and a Tallahassee Police Department officer have been arrested based on charges stemming from a fundraiser for first responders' families.

Joseph "Mike" Amison, a TFD firefighter, and his wife, Jennifer Amison, a TPD officer, both were the subjects of warrants issued after an investigation concluded they had made personal use of the donations.

Earlier in September, Jennifer Amison was arrested and released on pretrial conditions. 

Joseph Amison, who was booked into the Leon County Jail, and his wife face several charges stemming from a 2016 fundraiser:

• Organized scheme to defraud
• Failure to apply contributions in a manner substantially consistent with solicitation
• Two counts of grand theft $10,000-$20,000

The fundraiser was held after the passing of Tallahassee firefighter Chris Thurman, Tallahassee firefighter Captain Brad Deanda, and Shelby Allen, who is the late daughter of a Tallahassee firefighter. The fundraiser was intended to benefit the families of those who passed.

The complaint says the Amisons kept nearly $12,000 from the families.

The documents say that the Amisons claimed to be having "health problems" as an excuse for not giving the families the money, though health records show otherwise.

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