Boone County water official arrested for abusing public trust

BURLINGTON, Ky. - The general manager of the Boone County Water District was arrested Friday morning for allegedly selling scrap metal that belonged to the district and keeping the money at his house.

Boone County Sheriff’s investigators arrested Phil Trzop, 62 of Walton, Ky., at about 11:50 a.m. Earlier this month, Trzop was elected mayor of Walton.

Trzop was charged with abuse of public trust, which is a Class “C” felony, punishable by 5-10 years in prison.

A three-week investigation revealed Trzop used cash from the sales of scrap metal to give Christmas bonuses to employees.  The more detectives delved into the matter, however, the numbers didn’t match up. Trzop eventually admitted to having money at his house and relinquished it to detectives.

Any proceeds from the sale should've gone into the county's general fund, detectives said.

Trzop is in the Boone County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $50,000 cash bond.

Trzop had previously served as mayor for nearly two decades until his defeat in 2010. His election earlier this month marked a return for him to the mayor’s seat of the town of about 3,600.