Former fire official sentenced for mail fraud

The former assistant chief of South King County's Fire & Rescue district was sentenced Friday to three years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution for stealing from the district.

Grant Gaspard, 51, of Olympia, pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud in connection with the thefts, which involved abusing his position as the district's financial officer.

An indictment handed down by a grand jury last August accused Gaspard of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the district using false invoices and through purchases on his district credit card.

The conviction stems from an instance where Gaspard submitted a fake invoice to the county and received a $98,000 check at his home.

Gaspard diverted more than $775,000 in district funds since 2002 that Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Parrent said could have been put to better use, like "obtaining additional safety or medical equipment."

The prosecutors pointed out that Gaspard used the money to fuel his expensive hobbies: photography and rebuilding vintage Mini Cooper cars.

A news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said some of the equipment Gaspard purchased will be auctioned to help pay his restitution.

Gaspard's attorney, Brett Purtzer, urged U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez to show his client some leniency, saying Gaspard's behavior was at least in part due to an impulse control disorder fueled by depression.

Gaspard was a 27-year veteran of King County Fire Protection District No. 39, which covers 41 square miles of Federal Way, Des Moines and unincorporated King County.