Stolen tire case: Indian River County refusing to pay Goodyear for tires former official allegedly bought, resold

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The county is refusing to pay Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for tires a former assistant fire chief bought and then allegedly resold himself.

Recently retired Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Brian Burkeen last month was charged with one count of grand theft and five counts of dealing in stolen property for allegedly purchasing tires from Vero Beach Goodyear auto service centers and reselling them for cash. The charges of dealing in stolen property eventually were dropped.

Former Emergency Services Director John King questioned almost $171,000 in February invoices for tires, and eventually refused to pay them.

"There is no information identifying the vehicle year, make or mileage," King wrote in a Feb. 26 letter to the Goodyear Auto Service Center, a division of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. "Without this, I am unable to process the invoices for payment. At least two invoices have wheel sizes not found in our vehicle fleet. Therefore, I need your assistance in providing more information so I can process payment."

County officials also want to make sure Goodyear employees were not involved in the alleged theft.

For its part, Goodyear is appealing to the County Commission, at its Tuesday morning meeting, for full payment.

More: Stolen tire case: All but one charge against Brian Burkeen dropped by prosecutors

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County Administrator Jason Brown said he has several unanswered questions about the tires and invoices.

Goodyear sold those tires to the county loose, and not mounted on county vehicles as always had been the case, Brown said. Also, the volume of tires purchased increased when bought from a different Goodyear store, he said.

"I'm not satisfied someone at Goodyear wasn't aware of what may have been happening," Brown said. "I would like to get these questions answered."

Goodyear is fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation, said Doug Grassian, director of consumer communications. He declined further comment, but said a company representative would attend Tuesday's meeting.

More: Stolen tire case: Former fire official would pick up tires in Indian River County truck or trailer, investigators found

Goodyear Regional District Manager Jim Pettit, in correspondence with officials, offered to resubmit the invoices. The county should pay the invoices, he said in an April 16 letter to county commissioners.

"Goodyear is not aware of any requirement in any agreement that mandates Goodyear match tires purchased by the county to Indian River County vehicles," he wrote. "This item has never been a requirement to obtain payment during the parties' course of conduct."