By AP/KWMU
Belleville, Ill. – Newly acquired records show that ousted Belleville Police Chief Dave Ruebhausen was at one point making hundreds of personal calls on his city-owned cell phone.
The Belleville News-Democrat obtained the records; Ruebhausen was making so many calls that Mayor Mark Eckert told him in July to get his own cell phone.
Ruebhausen says he did get his own phone. Afterward, the usage on his city phone fell from a high of 4,360 minutes in June to 1,745 minutes in August.
The former chief says his cell phone use didn't cost taxpayers any extra money because all city workers draw from a pool of minutes that keep them from accruing additional charges.
The City Council fired Ruebhausen last week after Eckert placed him on paid administrative leave.