Fired Fort Worth aviation director out of jail on $10,000 bond, court records show
Fort Worth’s former aviation director, who was fired in September before an investigation revealed he allegedly used a city credit card to pay for repairs to a city-owned vehicle damaged in a hit-and-run, was arrested this week, court records show.
Bill Welstead, 42, is accused of misappropriating a total of $43,000 in taxpayer funds, according to Fort Worth officials. The city hasn’t specified, however, what the funds were used for.
A bond of 10,000 was set for Welstead, who is charged with abuse of public office, according to a summary of his case on the Tarrant County District Clerk website. The court records show he was booked into jail Wednesday morning and released on bond about 10 hours later.
A spokesperson for the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Welstead’s defense attorney, Jeff Hampton, also didn’t respond to a message by deadline.
The City of Fort Worth showed it’s moving forward this week, naming interim director Roger Venables the new permanent director, as Welstead’s case continues in court.
City Manager David Cooke and Assistant City Manager Fernando Costa determined in September Welstead had hit another car with a city-owned vehicle on June 25 and fled the scene, according to a termination letter obtained by the Star-Telegram. He then directed staff to use a city-issued credit card to pay for the damages, they wrote. Welstead was fired Sept. 9, and about two weeks later Cooke publicly called for police to investigate.
Welstead was involved in multiple incidents with city vehicles that resulted in damage, Cooke and Costa said in the letter. Each time, they said, he took the vehicle to an unauthorized body shop instead of the city maintenance department as required.
Welstead also used airport land for hunting and operated a private aerospace company he didn’t disclose, according to the letter.
In 2017, the letter states, he was the subject of a human resources investigation that found he had retaliated against an employee following a complaint. He was given a two-week unpaid suspension at the time.
Cooke and Costa, in the letter, concluded, “We no longer have confidence that you can be a trusted member of the City’s Management team and model the ethical and respectful behavior that we expect of our City leaders.”
Welstead, who made about $150,000 a year as aviation director, was charged with abuse of official capacity, the court docket shows. The charge refers to public officials who misuse public property for personal gain, and the amount of money involved makes it rise to a third-degree felony. He could face two to 10 years in prison.
An arrest warrant was filed Nov. 18, the court docket shows.
Venables will be paid $179,025 as director.
The Fort Worth aviation department oversees Alliance, Spinks and Meacham International airports.
