Ricky Chavez, the former Finance Director for the City of Alpine, has pleaded guilty to one charge of theft and one charge of theft by a public servant in a case that exposed serious financial mismanagement and corruption at the Alpine City Council.
As we've previously reported, allegations of financial mismanagement among the city staff, along with an independent audit that uncovered unauthorized and excessive payroll advances given to employees, soon led to City Manager Chuy Garcia being fired and Chavez being suspended (with pay.)
An investigation into allegations that Chavez shredded documents soon began, and city officials moved to secure documents and computer servers.
Click here for a detailed timeline of developments in the story, since the first allegations of financial mismanagement surfaced in February 2013.
Lorne Matalon spoke with Alpine Mayor Avinash Rangra and City Councilor Mike Davidson about the breaking news.