Fired Fort Worth aviation director charged with abuse of power, could face prison
Fort Worth’s fired aviation director has been charged with abuse of public office, according to Tarrant County court records.
The city said last week Bill Welstead misappropriated $43,000 in taxpayer funds, but did not provide detail of how the funds were spent.
City Manager David Cooke terminated Welstead as head of the department Sept. 9 following an internal investigation that found Welstead was involved in a hit-and-run in a city-owned vehicle and then directed staff to use a city-issued credit card to pay for damages.
According to the district court docket, Welstead was charged with abuse of official capacity. The charge applies to public officials who misuse public property for personal gain.
The amount of money involved in the accusation makes the charge a third-degree felony. Welstead could face two to 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 25.
A Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said Friday morning there was no record of Welstead being booked into jail as of Friday morning, and court records did not indicate if a warrant had been issued.
The city will recover the $43,000 by deducting it from the payment of Welstead’s accrued leave, which would have been paid upon his termination. Cooke said in the statement the city will continue to withhold remaining payment pending the investigation and “any further allegations that might emerge in the near future.”
The Star-Telegram reported the firing Sept. 22 when Cooke made public that he had fired Welstead and had asked the police department to investigate. Cooke also requested an audit.
That financial review identified opportunities for the city to strengthen internal controls to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, according to the city’s statement.
Welstead, 42, made about $150,000 as aviation director.
An investigation into Welstead was prompted when he hit another car with a city-owned vehicle on June 25 and then fled the scene, according to a termination letter the Star-Telegram obtained last month.
That crash led to uncovering of multiple crashes that Welstead was involved in with city vehicles. Each time he took the vehicle to an unauthorized body shop instead of the city maintenance department.
Welstead also operated a private aerospace business that he did not disclose and used airport land for hunting, according to the letter.
Welstead was also involved in a 2017 human resources investigation, according to the letter. That investigation noted that he retaliated against an employee after a complaint. He received a two-week unpaid suspension.
The Fort Worth aviation department oversees three airports: Alliance, Spinks and Meacham International. Meacham and Spinks provide regional aviation services for air charter, corporate, business and recreational aircraft. While Alliance Air Services manages Alliance, the city owns the airport.
Roger Venables, the city’s assistant director for property management, will serve as the interim director for the Aviation Department.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 10:10 AM.
