By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - A Price Hill man is accused of taking a quarter-million dollars from a Fairfield nursing home where he worked, Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper said Thursday.

Charles E. Bauer, 39, is free on bond awaiting a Sept. 8 appearance before Common Pleas Judge Patricia Oney.

In an indictment released Wednesday, Bauer is accused of aggravated theft by deception and four counts of money laundering. All five charges are third-degree felonies.

Bauer was a staff accountant for Community Multicare Center, 908 Symmes Road, and "took advantage of that trust and his position," Piper said. The defendant wrote checks to himself and used accounts of patients who had died, Piper said; the offenses occurred from 1998-2003.

Community Multicare filed a report with Fairfield police in mid-June. Court records say $248,746 was taken, but Piper said the amount could be higher.

Bauer's attorney, David Scacchetti, said his client hopes to settle the case rather than go to trial.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com