Sahuarita Police have arrested two men following an investigation involving felony fraud and theft charges using town money.
According to a news release from the Town of Sahuarita, the town received an anonymous tip in early December accusing Sahuarita employee Joe Marti of allegedly using his town-issued fuel card to purchase fuel for his own vehicle.
The Town told the chief of police, who ordered a criminal investigation into Marti, the news release said.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Marti was allegedly getting kickbacks from a business, Mikey's Concrete, owned by Mike Felix, the news release said. The kickbacks were for Public Works construction and repair projects that went toward Mikey's Concrete.
Marti was arrested on Jan. 17 on suspicion of theft and fraud related to the theft and pawning of town equipment, and for using the town fuel card for his personal vehicles, the news release said.
Marti was booked into the Pima County Jail, but after a discussion between the Sahuarita Police Department and Pima County Attorney's Office, the charges against Marti were dismissed without prejudice, the news release said.
The dismissal was to allow police and prosecutors time to "obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the case," the news release said. It also allowed for any original charges and possible new charges to be brought against the defendant at a different time.
Following a follow-up investigation, Sahuarita Police arrested Marti for a second time on new charges Wednesday morning.
SPD discovered during the follow-up that Marti had allegedly purchased professional-grade landscaping equipment with his town credit card and flipped them to Felix at a lower price, the news release said.
Marti had also purchased power tools, hand tools and home goods with his town card, the news release said.
Felix was also arrested Wednesday morning.
Sahuarita Police estimated that Marti purchased $27,000 worth of equipment with the town card, the news release said. The release also said that SPD found more than three dozen emails connected to missing receipts associated with Marti's town card purchases over a four-year period.
The investigation revealed that Marti, who no longer works for the town, was the only employee allegedly committing crimes in coordination with Mike Felix.
