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Compton's Former Deputy Treasurer Accused Of Stealing More Than $3.7 Million From City
(Photo courtesy of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas)
In December we reported that Salvador Galvan, then Compton's deputy treasurer, was arrested for allegedly embezzling money from the city's treasury. On Wednesday Galvan was detained again, this time by federal authorities who say that he'd stolen more than $3.7 million over the course of about six years, reports the L.A. Times.
According to the criminal complaint, Galvan would take anywhere between $200 to $8,000 a day by skimming money off funds from parking tickets, business license fees and other city services.
The signs, apparently, were evident. According to a release from the Department of Justice, one of Galvan's supervisor's said that he went from driving an "old Toyota" to driving an Audi sedan. The supervisor also said that Galvan had claimed he'd purchased a home in La Mirada just to demolish it and build a new one. All this was happening while he was, allegedly, working with an annual salary of about $60,000.
The DOJ says that Galvan, 47, had worked in the Compton treasurer’s office for more than 20 years.
"The alleged embezzlement and theft of public funds is an egregious affront to the residents of Compton and our dedicated employees,” Compton Mayor Aja Brown said in December.
If convicted of the embezzlement charge, Galvan would face a maximum five years in federal prison.
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