Morrison County Man Charged With Theft for Allegedly Stealing Money from Fire Department Relief Association

(KNSI) — A 74-year-old Bowlus man is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a local nonprofit organization.

Prosecutors in Morrison County say in October of 2022, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division was asked by the state Gambling Control Board to investigate a potential theft involving the Bowlus Fire Department’s Charitable Gambling Fund.

According to the criminal complaint, fire department members contacted the police after discovering money was missing from the fund. They said Arnold Benusa was the licensed gambling manager for the nonprofit fire department relief association and had been since May 2010. Fire department members said they repeatedly asked Bensua for access to bank documents but said he would either stall or refuse to hand them over. Once the members could access the statements, they discovered discrepancies with the deposits in the amount of $260,000. They said the slips were filled out correctly, but only part of the money was actually deposited. The rest was on checks written out to the City of Bowlus, but city employees said they didn’t get any of that money.

Further investigation revealed the endorsement stamps were also allegedly tampered with. Witnesses told investigators Benusa admitted to them he took cash and bought things for his personal use. Records allegedly showed $75,000 had disappeared within the last three years.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Benusa’s home and allegedly found $30,000 in cash, personal bank account records, and items used to cash fraudulent checks that had been written on the gambling account. They say there was cash in individual envelopes labeled “FD $” with the amounts and the dates the money was taken.

Benusa is charged with one count of felony theft by swindle. He is due back in court on April 10th.

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