Theopulus Gordon could have prevented the death of Eric Robinson last September, but he didn’t.FORT WAYNE – The former president of the Maysville Sewer and Water District was sentenced Thursday to probation after he pleaded guilty in December to corrupt business influence.
James E. Perrin, 64, of Harlan admitted to diverting wastewater around a meter, costing Fort Wayne tens of thousands of dollars. In late May, an Indiana Board of Accounts audit found that, among other things, Perrin diverted thousands of gallons of sewage around the meter to avoid being billed by the city of Fort Wayne.
As part of his plea agreement, an additional charge of theft was dismissed.
Because he was able to pay the full amount of restitution – $150,000 to Fort Wayne’s City Utilities – his four-year prison sentence was suspended.
Perrin was the district’s maintenance operator and was the board president until February 2011.
According to court documents, Perrin engaged in official misconduct from November 2007 through December 2010 by periodically diverting sewage to prevent the district from being billed the full amount for wastewater treatment services.
The district’s wastewater is processed by Fort Wayne, and the district is billed for the total volume measured by a flow meter on the system, according to court documents.
But by using a bypass valve normally used for repairs, Perrin was able to reroute the flow, diverting between 38 percent and 44 percent away from the meter.
The state Board of Accounts found that the rough loss estimate to the city was $150,000 to $250,000 for the 38 months Perrin diverted the flow, according to court documents.
In a May interview with The Journal Gazette, Perrin said he diverted the wastewater to keep the district within its contractual daily limit of 150,000 gallons.
The theft charge against Perrin stemmed from $7,900 he was reimbursed by the district for a pump he claimed to have bought with his own money.
Perrin later admitted turning in a false receipt for the pump, then repaid the district the $7,900 plus $1,600 in interest, according to court documents.
As part of the sentence, Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull ordered Perrin to participate in a criminal intervention program and perform 80 hours of community service.
