Former Aurora City Manager Accused of Stealing More Than $300,000 From Wise County Town

The former Aurora city manager was jailed Thursday on charges she stole more than $300,000 from the Wise County town of 2,500.

Toni Wheeler was charged with theft over $300,000 by a public servant and released from the Wise County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

Wheeler was the longtime city manager in Aurora until she was fired in October.

Wise County Sheriff's Office

Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said the charges come after a long investigation by Texas Rangers that included a suspicious fire that destroyed the town’s city hall in June.

City Council Member Deb Terrell said she would push other city leaders to hire forensic auditors to track how much money may have been stolen.

Terrell said the problem was a total lack of accountability.

In her first two years after she was elected, the city council only held one meeting and Wheeler ran the city’s finances with little oversight, Terrell said.

Terrell demanded to see city budgets and audits for three years just two weeks before the fire destroyed city hall, she said.

Wheeler couldn’t be reached for comment.

Stainton said his office would work to recover the stolen money for the citizens of Aurora.

He added the investigation is continuing and more charges are possible.

Aurora is best known for a legend that a UFO landed there in 1897 and locals buried one of the aliens.