NOGALES, AZ (AZFamily) — A former police union president avoided jail time but must pay back thousands of dollars for embezzling funds from the southern Arizona organization.

Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that Victor Hetherington, the ex-president of the Nogales Police Officers Association and a retired 20-year veteran of the Nogales Police Department, was sentenced to four years of probation for the fraud scheme. He must also pay back the total loss amount of nearly $40,000.

From Jan. 2018 to Aug. 2023, authorities say Hetherington used the police union’s bank accounts to transfer funds into his own personal accounts. He also reportedly used union money to pay off his credit cards, eat at restaurants, gamble at casinos and even pay for a dentist appointment.

Over five years, p

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