Former NC town employee indicted in $200,000 dumpster-related scam

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A solid-waste superintendent for a town in North Carolina was accused by authorities of defrauding the community of at least $200,000.

Thad Leslie Buck, who worked for the town of Kernersville, was indicted Monday on eight counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, Winston-Salem Journal reported. Authorities accused him of using a fake company to defraud the community over 14 years.

The indictments against Buck, 53, of Colfax, allege that he told town officials that Atlantic Container Company LLC would paint the community’s dumpsters, but the company never did the work. Atlantic Container is not registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State, the newspaper reported.

Buck became a solid-waste operations supervisor for the town in 2004 and was promoted to superintendent in 2009. He was fired in December for participation in an action that would “seriously disrupt or disturb the normal operation of the department” or cause “disharmony or strife within the department,” according to his dismissal letter.

Buck was arrested Oct. 1 on eight counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond.

Kernersville’s Manager Curtis Swisher, Mayor Dawn Morgan and Mayor Pro Tem Jenny Fulton declined requests for comment from the newspaper.

It was not immediately clear Saturday if Buck has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.