Austintown police investigating stolen funds; Fitch Hall of Fame involved

AUSTINTOWN

Township police are investigating claims of stolen money by a booster organization at Fitch High School.

Austintown schools Superintendent Vincent Colaluca said, “We got a tip from several residents that there was something inappropriate going on with the Austintown Fitch Hall of Fame.”

The district looked into the matter and gave information to the township police. The amount of money alleged to have been stolen was not disclosed by police or Colaluca.

That police report was heavily redacted and did not shed much light on the investigation. It did detail that there was money taken from a bank account and an undetermined number of forged checks.

The Fitch Hall of Fame is a booster organization, which is not run directly by the schools. “The only thing we do is give them the authority to use our name,” Colaluca said.

The superintendent also said he believed the group has been around since 2007 and it was started by a group of alumni. He wasn’t sure who was the current chairman, as he said the heads of groups like that change often.