BENNINGTON — A former Vermont fire chief has been accused of fraud and embezzlement stemming from a department-sponsored raffle.

Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette says people who won prizes in the raffle never received them. They also say money paid for raffle tickets was never turned over to the department.

Joseph Hayes was Bennington Rural Fire Department chief. He lost his bid to be re-elected as chief last month.

The Bennington Banner reports (http://bit.ly/XDg3A5) Hayes was cited for false pretenses and embezzlement. His wife, Angela, was cited as being an accessory to the false pretenses charge.

Hayes is on probation after pleading guilty last month to a disorderly conduct charge. That stemmed from an incident at an emergency scene last June where Hayes threw a flashlight at a vehicle.