Former Fairview mayor charged with stealing, forgery, official misconduct

One week after Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released an audit of the city of Fairview claiming former Mayor Peter Janis (DOB 1973) was responsible for more than $10,000 in missing funds, the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office has charged Janis with stealing, forgery and official misconduct.

According to the probable cause statement, the auditors provided information in January about what they discovered.

Janis admitted to investigators that he stole the money.

From the probable cause statement:

On May 21, 2024, Fairview city officials reported that funds were missing from the city accounts. The information was provided to the Missouri State Auditor's Office and led to an audit being conducted. 

On January 21, 2026, Newton County Sheriff's Office was made aware of key facts of the audit. The audit determined that $10, 314.23 worth of cash previously paid to the city of Fairview was not
deposited in the bank. 

The records show this occurred over time through multiple deposits between June 2023 and April 2024. Peter Janis was the Mayor of Fairview between April 2023 and April 2024. Mr. Janis started to collect and manage water utility payments after both clerks resigned from their position in June 2023.

On March 10, 2026, I interviewed Mr. Janis after advising him of Miranda Warning regarding the missing water utility funds. Mr. Janis was very reluctant to provide information to my questions and behaved in an uneasy manner. 

Throughout the conversation Mr. Janis avoided eye contact, would take long pauses before providing an answer, and had difficulty composing his answers.

Mr. Janis eventually disclosed to me that he stole the money from the water utility payments. He stated that at the end of the day he would take the deposit bag kept at the city hall, separate the checks, cash, and money orders in the bag. He would complete a new bank deposit slip without the cash and place the
checks, money orders, and new deposit slip in the bag. He would put the bag back and keep the cash. He stated this happened several times and often in different ways, however, this was the general process he used.

Mr. Janis stated that he used the cash for general expenses at home, such as gas, food, and clothing. He told me at times he would return some of the money or pay some back. I asked him if he would be willing to write a statement abouthis involvement. Mr. Janis provided a written statement explaining a portion of
the process and how he repaid some of the cash.