With the release of the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s report about allegations that the Mexican American Community Service Agency misappropriated funds that should have gone to employees’ retirement funds, there really is no doubt: The Santa Clara County District Attorney should open a criminal probe.
No doubt remains
With the release of the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s report about allegations that the Mexican American Community Service Agency misappropriated funds that should have gone to employees’ retirement funds, there really is no doubt: The Santa Clara County District Attorney should open a criminal probe.
The report, authored by Superintendent Chuck Weis, found that MACSA employees illegally misappropriated $400,000 that should have gone to pension plans for employees at its two charter schools, including El Portal Academy in Gilroy, and instead spent them on operational expenses, Staff Writer Sara Suddes reported.
MACSA’s good deeds don’t relieve DA of responsibility
Yes, MACSA has a long record of doing good in the community.
Yes, MACSA is reorganizing and says that the employees responsible are no longer with the organization.
Yes, MACSA is working on repaying the funds that it owes employees who trusted it to pay them to their pension accounts.
Those are all good things. They are also completely irrelevant to the question of whether to conduct a criminal investigation of MACSA.
Justice demands an investigation
We are a nation of laws, and when there are credible allegations that those laws have been broken, those charged with prosecuting criminal misconduct must investigate. We cannot ignore laws because it’s inconvenient to prosecute, because we like the accused, or because the accused no longer holds office in which the alleged misconduct took place.
After an investigation is conducted, the DA’s office can then use its prosecutorial discretion to determine if charges are warranted. But with all the evidence about the problems at the nonprofit agency, a decision to not even investigate the serious allegations involving MACSA sends the wrong message to others who might be tempted to dip into employees’ retirement funds.
It might be a politically charged, difficult process, but an investigation is what our system of justice demands.
