Monticello fire chief resigns

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Village officials accepted without comment the resignation of Monticello fire chief Brent Starr on March 3. "It is with heartfelt regret, as an 18 year member... [during which time] I was proud to Volunteer, serve and protect my community, that effective immediately I must resign as the Fire Chief of the Monticello Fire Department due to personal reasons," Starr wrote in a February 5 letter to the board.

Starr, 36, a full-time NYS correctional officer for 15 years, said he retained Goshen attorney Gary Greenwald to protect his civil service job. Greenwald's office said he would be out of town until Thursday. Since last November, Starr has not been active with the fire department due to the issue.

An account in The Times Herald-Record claimed that Starr's "spending practices" are being investigated, including alleged use of a fire department credit card. On March 4, Starr called this assertion "mind-boggling," adding the published account was the first he had heard of any claims involving a credit card. "To be honest with you, I haven't even been questioned," he said.

Starr called the investigation "to some degree" politically motivated.

District Attorney Stephen Lungen is reportedly awaiting documentation, and no charges have been filed. Lungen could not be reached at press-time. He was publicly quoted as saying that lengthy investigations -- this one dating back to last fall -- are not uncommon for his office.

Starr being out of the way clears the way for the post open to be filled by the administration which took office last year.

Appointed chief in April 1993, Starr's second two-year term would have expired in April 1997 had he not resigned. Monticello firefighters elect a chief, who must then be confirmed by the village board in order to take office.

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