Lee’s Summit’s assistant city manager accused of $120,000 theft from nonprofit

An assistant Lee’s Summit city manager has been accused of stealing $120,000 from a nonprofit group while he served as its executive director.

Daren Scott Fristoe, 51, of Lee’s Summit allegedly transferred money from the group’s checking account into his personal accounts. Fristoe allegedly used the money to make payments on his credit card, bank loan and telephone account.

The city placed Fristoe on paid administrative leave Friday, after Jackson County prosecutors filed the criminal charge. The alleged wrongdoing occurred before Fristoe started working for Lee’s Summit, city officials said in a statement released Monday.

“One of the fundamental tenets of our legal system is that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. It is important during this time that we not speculate on innocence or guilt in these matters,” City Manager Stephen Arbo said in a written statement. “Daren is a valued leader within our organization. Since he began full-time employment at the city of Lee’s Summit in April 2013, he has helped to shape and re-ignite our community’s economic development activity.”

Fristoe could not be reached for comment Monday.

According to court records, the theft began shortly after Fristoe took over as executive director and chief operating officer of the Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair, which provides training in safety, pollution prevention and hazardous material handling for the automotive industry. It was based in Lee’s Summit at the time of the alleged thefts but moved in 2013 to the Chicago area.

Fristoe worked at the nonprofit from 2008 to 2013, the group said in a statement posted on its website. Management discovered the money issue during an internal review and an external audit, the statement said.

“As part of our investigation, the staff and board of directors have strengthened our policies and procedures for governance and operations oversight,” Charles E. Ayers, the nonprofit’s president, said in the statement.

According to court records, the 2013 audit revealed that Fristoe used money from the group’s accounts to pay personal bills totaling $93,512. In addition, $27,397 was paid to two individuals associated with Fristoe.

When the auditing firm asked Fristoe about the payments, he told them the disbursements were personal expenditures inadvertently paid through the group’s operating account, according court records.

The Missouri Highway Patrol investigated the case.

This story was originally published November 17, 2014 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Lee’s Summit’s assistant city manager accused of $120,000 theft from nonprofit."