Wayne Township Trustee Chuck Jones is stepping down as part of a plea agreement reached with the Marion County Prosecutor.

Jones was accused of  having a conflict of interest by taking a salary from the Wayne Township Fire Department Charity which did business with the Wayne Township Fire Department.

According to its 2019 990 Form, the Wayne Township Fire Department Inc., paid Trustee Chuck Jones $17,500 to serve on its board.   The charity also paid Fire Chief Mike Lang as well.

Jones pleading guilty to having a conflict of interest which is a Class 6 felony.  He will serve no jail time,  but must reimburse the Township nearly $32,000.

Jones told Indy Politics back in  August that it was inappropriate for him to be paid,  so as of May 21  he no longer received a salary.

As part of his agreement, Jones is pleading guilty to a felony and resigning as Trustee.

Also charged with conflicts of interest were  Chief Mike Lang and firefighters Randy Adams,  and James Parham.

In addition to the salary, the forms also stated that Jones and the Chief worked an average of 30 hours a week, which Chief Lang told Indy Politics, that was not the case and at most it was 10 hours a week.   Lang also stopped taking a salary in May as well.

Both Jones and Lang spoke to Indy Politics back in August.   You can hear them the Leon-Tailored Audio by clicking here.   It runs for 22 minutes.

In a statement to RTV 6, Jones stated the following…

“I am writing to address my recent legal concerns and reinforce my deep respect and admiration for our community. I am disappointed to share that I recently had a conflict of interest that may have affected my tenure as Wayne Township Trustee. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my employees, the citizens of Wayne Township, and the rest of my community. I solemnly regret my actions that created this conflict of interest and I have taken full responsibility for my lack of discretion. I pray that our community will heal and continue to blossom as I take steps to remedy this unfortunate situation.

A caucus will have to held to pick Jones’ replacement.