An update in the case of a former village of Matherville employee charged in a theft investigation. A three-day bench trial was scheduled to begin today (Monday) for 70-year old Roland E. Hartman, but the matter has now been reset for Dec. 27 in Mercer County Circuit Court. He faces Class X and Class 1 felony charges of theft and a Class 3 felony of official misconduct. Hartman was arrested in Dec. 2021. A press release from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department said the investigation “revealed a pattern of long terms theft in excess of $100,000.” Hartman has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is free on bond.
