Schools Official Accused of Theft

A former San Marino schools administrator was charged Wednesday with embezzling more than $50,000 through a series of false invoices for district equipment and labor.

John Hughes, former maintenance director for the San Marino Unified School District, is charged with one felony count of misappropriation of funds and one felony count of embezzlement with the special circumstance that he took more than $50,000.

He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kerry White.

Hughes, 38, of South Pasadena, resigned Dec. 12 after an investigation by school district officials into financial discrepancies was turned over to police.

Hughes did not return telephone calls to his home Wednesday.

San Bernardino County prosecutors last fall charged Hughes with misappropriation of funds from the San Bernardino City Unified School District, where he worked until the San Marino district hired him in October 1999. They alleged that he acquired a digital camera and listening devices at district expense and used them to illegally listen to conversations of employees.

On Dec. 21, Hughes pleaded no contest to misdemeanor eavesdropping to resolve that case, said Susan Mickey, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office. He was sentenced to three years’ probation, she said.

‘Unfortunate This Happened’

Los Angeles County prosecutors allege that Hughes, who oversaw all maintenance work in the San Marino district, embezzled money from April 2000 to July 2001 by creating false invoices and bills.

“As soon as we discovered the discrepancies, we acted to address the problem and called in the police,” said Jack Rose, San Marino schools superintendent. “When you put someone in this kind of position, you don’t expect this kind of thing to happen.”

Rose said the district conducted an internal probe and discovered more than $50,000 missing. “He billed for things that never existed,” Rose said.

School board President Becky Ung said it “is unfortunate this happened. This is money we could have used to educate our children.”

San Marino district officials said they had no reports of any problems with Hughes when he was hired. They placed him on administrative leave in November while the matter was investigated.

Law enforcement sources said Wednesday that they will examine accounts at the San Bernardino schools that Hughes had access to for potential discrepancies.