A Channel 5 Investigates report found $60,000 missing from the Hudson Firefighters Relief Association Fund and firefighters suspect that retired Chief John Blood is the culprit.
The Channel 5 report that aired Wednesday cited a police report that referenced missing money from the firefighters’ relief fund and a separate investigation over credit card purchases made by Blood - who was placed on administrative leave in March and later retired - and charged to the town.
WCVB - the Daily News’ media partner - found that Blood was treasurer of the Hudson Firefighters Relief Association, which provides money to firefighters and their families in times of need, since 1998 and was the only person with access to that money. In 2001, there was more than $60,000 in the fund, but over the years the account was drained and members told Channel 5 they don’t know where it went.
In a statement released Thursday, Hudson Executive Assistant Thomas Moses said the $60,000 theft alleged in the Channel 5 report “has nothing to do with the Town of Hudson.”
“The firefighter benevolent bank account was not set up, maintained or controlled by the Town of Hudson,” the statement reads.