Chester Township police chief arrested

A Delaware County police chief has been arrested on charges that he stole checks from an inmate, forged them, and used one check to make a down payment on a Cadillac Escalade, according to the state Attorney General's office.

Chester Township Police Chief Booker T. "Tim" Wilson, 47, of Chester, surrendered to police today and was charged with receiving stolen property and several counts of forgery and theft. He was released on $5,000 personal recognizance bail.

Wilson, who has been chief in Chester Township for 4½ years, also worked part time as a weekend security guard at a minimum security corrections facility in Chester called MIN-SEC, according to the criminal complaint.

Inmate Vaughn Moore received several checks at the facility from the State Workers Insurance Fund; he had sustained an injury while working at a meat market in 2005, and was collecting workman's compensation.

Several state checks arrived for Moore at the facility after he was released in March 2006. Wilson forged and cashed three of the checks, using a $6,657.26 check for the down payment on the Escalade in July 2007, according to the Attorney General's office. Moore testified that the signature endorsing the check was not his, according to the criminal complaint.

Wilson's attorney, John List, said his client was "duped" by another person and said the specifics would come out during the trial.

"He didn't know that this check was stolen," List said after Wilson's arraignment in Thorndale, Chester County, where Wilson had bought the Escalade.

Magisterial District Judge James Charley recused himself from the case because he was once Wilson's boss; he had served as the police chief in Chester Township.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5.