While he waits to learn his fate in federal court, former Velda City police chief and city administrator Daniel Paulino is already back in uniform. He is listed as working with the Hillsdale Police Department even as he awaits sentencing in a federal wire-fraud case that accuses him of misappropriating more than $300,000 in municipal funds. Paulino led Velda City’s police force until the department was dissolved in 2024, then moved into the city administrator role during the span of time prosecutors later scrutinized.
As reported by the St. Louis Post‑Dispatch, Paulino appears on Hillsdale’s personnel roster and has handled duties there while his federal case remains unresolved. The Post‑Dispatch identified him and traced his path from Velda City police chief to city administrator, then over to neighboring Hillsdale.
What prosecutors allege
Federal prosecutors say a grand jury indicted Paulino in May 2025 on three counts of wire fraud, alleging he siphoned about $313,420 in city money through credit card charges, checks and transfers to businesses he controlled. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, investigators documented hundreds of unauthorized card purchases, direct deposits and vendor payments that they say routed public funds to Paulino and family-owned companies. The government’s May 1, 2025 press release lays out those transactions in detail, as described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Small‑city policing fallout
Velda City abruptly shuttered its police department in 2024 after several officers resigned and an early proposal to contract policing services with Hillsdale failed on a 3-2 vote. The city instead moved to secure a contract with nearby Pagedale. That kind of churn, where officers and chiefs slide between neighboring small departments, has left north St. Louis County communities wrestling with basic questions of staffing and oversight. Local reporting on those municipal moves helps explain how a former Velda City official can be working a few miles away while still tangled in a federal criminal case, a pattern the Post‑Dispatch has followed in its coverage of north-county policing.
Legal status and next steps
Paulino pleaded guilty in November 2025 to two counts of wire fraud and admitted embezzling at least $158,000 from Velda City, according to a Justice Department notice that also recorded a sentencing date on the federal docket. Each wire-fraud count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, although the actual sentence and any restitution will be up to the judge at sentencing, as outlined in the Department of Justice summary of the case. The matter remains active while officials and residents watch to see whether Hillsdale or its neighboring towns revisit their hiring and oversight practices in response.
