Delta: Assistant fire chief may lose EMT status

9/28/2005

Roger Morr's position as first assistant fire chief of the Delta Community Fire Department is one of the few community leadership roles the former financial institution executive has kept since he was jailed for grand theft in 2003 and filed for bankruptcy protection.

Now Morr, who once held seats on numerous local government boards, appears to be in danger of losing his standing in the fire department as well. The Ohio State Board of Emergency Medical Services this month revoked Morr's certificate to practice as an emergency medical technician in Ohio because of his grand theft conviction.

Last week, Morr, 62, who remains on probation and is now employed as a subcontractor renovating houses, filed an appeal in Fulton County Common Pleas Court. In it he said he has been an EMT for 38 1/2 years, loves the work, and feels he has something to give the community.

Before he was charged criminally, he repaid the loans that resulted in his conviction. He had used his position as a branch manager at First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Delta to hoodwink longtime friends into buying bogus investment securities. Prosecutors said Morr received $140,000 from eight people who believed they were investing in certificates of deposit that were federally insured, but instead Morr used the money to pay off a debt that he incurred from a bad investment in a trucking company.