After pleading no contest to embezzling almost $11,000 from the
San Benito County Superior Court, a former clerk was sentenced to
30 days in the county jail, 200 hours of community service and
three years of felony probation Friday.
After pleading no contest to embezzling almost $11,000 from the San Benito County Superior Court, a former clerk was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail, 200 hours of community service and three years of felony probation Friday.
Over the course of a year, Hollister resident Corrine Salinas stole $10,651 from the criminal and traffic division of the Superior Court, according to Alex Calvo, executive officer for the Superior Court.
Before Judge Alan Hedegard sentenced Salinas, Calvo read a statement that outlined the impacts of Salinas’ actions.
“The court places a lot of trust in its employees. We set standards of what is expected from the employees,” Calvo said. “Mrs. Salinas took advantage of that trust.”
Salinas tearfully addressed the courtroom Friday morning, in which sat some family members and former co-workers, in an attempt to give explanation to her actions.
Salinas took the money because she was going through a difficult divorce and was experiencing financial problems, she said.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here for this,” Salinas said. “I’m sorry for everything that happened. I have no excuse. You trusted me, but all I could think about were my kids. I have no excuse whatsoever.”
Before handing out the sentence, Hedegard expressed his empathy for Salinas and the predicament that impelled her to steal the money. But he also communicated his outrage over the actions that impacted every employee at the court.
“The cloud of suspicion that all of your co-workers lived under was palatable,” Hedegard said. “I sensed the stress, the tightness; the friendly response I had been accustomed to, all of a sudden wasn’t there. There were grim faces, a lot fewer smiles.”
Salinas has already paid back the money she took and a portion of the additional fines that were included in conditions of her plea bargain, Calvo said.
She is eligible for the work furlough program through the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department, which will enable her to report to the jail every day at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m., according to her attorney, Albie Jachimowicz.
Jachimowicz was satisfied with his client’s sentence and said the fact that she can be at home with her children every night was crucial.
“Desperate people do desperate things,” he said. “Some of us don’t handle things as well as others.”
