The former executive director of the Red Cross was sentenced
Wednesday to felony probation and 120 days bound to an electronic
monitoring device after pleading no contest to misusing chapter
funds, according to her attorney.
Hollister – The former executive director of the Red Cross was sentenced Wednesday to felony probation and 120 days bound to an electronic monitoring device after pleading no contest to misusing chapter funds, according to her attorney.
Charron Contival pleaded no contest to the felony charge of misusing chapter funds in June after nearly three years of fighting the charge in the court system, said her attorney, Arthur Cantu.
Contival will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device on her ankle at all times and will be placed on felony probation for three years, Cantu said. She will be able to do some traveling as long as she does not remove the device, he said.
“This has been a long, grueling litigation and I don’t think she’s glad (about the outcome),” Cantu said. “She’s tired.”
District Attorney John Sarsfield charged Contival with embezzling more than $20,000 by misusing a Red Cross credit card, but Cantu insists it was no more than $2,500.
Sarsfield said when a dollar amount is determined she will be required to pay back the value of what was taken.
A conference has been scheduled for next week to arrive at a more precise figure.
“I think this was fair,” he said. “It sends the appropriate message that money given to charity needs to be spent on the charity.”
Contival headed San Benito’s chapter from about 2001 to 2002, and the original charge of misuse of funds was filed in October of 2003. The charge stems from Contival using chapter funds to purchase personal items for her home, which was being used as a satellite station for the Red Cross, Cantu said.
Sarsfield has said he was pleased with the outcome because embezzlement cases can be complicated and hard to prove.
After Contival left the chapter, a new executive director took control of the office, however it continued to flounder. To save the chapter financially, San Benito merged with the Monterey chapter at the end of May and recently opened a new office in downtown Hollister, according to Executive Director Paula Herrera.
Herrera was pleased to hear Contival had finally been sentenced, after years of waiting for the case to work its way through the legal system.
“It’s been a long haul,” Herrera said, “but now we can put this behind us and get on with the business of the Red Cross.”
The chapter will have an open house at its new location on Aug. 31 from 5pm to 7:30pm to introduce the public to the new location and welcome them into the new Red Cross family, said Laura Kershner, public relations director for the Monterey and San Benito chapters.
“We’ve got some big plans for the area and are ready for a fresh start,” Kershner said.
The Red Cross is located at 357 Fifth Street, next to City Hall. For more information call (831) 424-4824.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
