A former village of Matherville employee charged in a theft investigation has waived his preliminary hearing. 69-year-old Roland E. Hartman appeared in Mercer County Circuit Court Monday morning and pleaded not guilty to Class X and Class 1 felony charges of theft and a Class 3 felony of official misconduct. A pre-trial conference has been set for March 14.
Hartman was arrested in December and a press release from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department said the investigation “revealed a pattern of long-term theft in excess of $100,000.” Hartman is free on bond.
