VELDA CITY, Mo. – Two north county towns are feeling the fallout after a trusted official was indicted for looting city coffers.

Daniel Paulino has appeared on FOX 2 over the years, especially when he was police chief and city administrator for Velda City—the town in which he’s now accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a village with just over 1,200 residents, the federal indictment says that 20% of those living there fall below the poverty line

“They’re good people that live in these communities,” Federal prosecutor Hal Goldsmith said, adding the allegations include “…over 800 charges on the city’s credit card to third-party vendors just for his personal expenses,” such as places like Walmart.

One alleged charge was for $3,956.82 payable to “Cheap Caribbean Vacations.”

“It’s shocking,” resident Angela Brooks said, adding, “When you hear things like that—that’s a lot of revenue that went through this community.”

The indictment alleges a total of $313,420 stolen from 2021 to 2024.

Paulino’s former Velda City Police Department is now closed. Officers walked off the job last March as police services were contracted out to a different department.

“People are breaking in—right across from the police department,” a nearby resident named Yolanda told FOX 2 as she pointed to the empty building, saying, “All those cars are sitting there with nobody working within them.”

Defendant Paulino is reportedly employed currently by the City of Hillsdale—as a police officer.

That police department was also closed and locked when FOX 2 visited.

Inside Hillsdale City Hall, administrators said they were unaware of the indictment and had no comment.

Defendant Paulino also told me he could not comment. He plans to turn himself in to federal authorities Friday. 

His attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said they’ve known for months about this investigation and that Paulino intends to plead not guilty.