The U.S. District Court of Eastern Missouri has sentenced a former St. Louis city official to three years in federal prison for embezzlement.
Thomas Stritzel, a former chief park ranger, was the second man charged in the scheme that cost the city of St. Louis parks department more than $470,000. The sentence issued today is identical to what Joe Vacca, the department's former deputy commissioner, received in December. The two men are also jointly responsible for paying back the $472,722 they stole from the city using shell companies, and false and inflated invoices.
Vacca and Striztel admitted to the fraud in September. No one else will be charged as a result of the scheme, which ran for nearly eight years.
Indictment and plea agreements for Dan Stritzel and Joe Vacca
