School Money Spent for Lavish Living; 3 Sentenced
The former superintendent and two former staff members of the Alisal Elementary School District were sentenced to prison Friday after they admitted misusing more than $70,000 in district funds to buy fancy meals, pay for private trips and hand out expensive gifts.
Marco Mazzoni, 40, of Alhambra, the former superintendent referred to by Deputy Dist. Atty. Collier Vale as “a charming phony,” was sentenced by Monterey County Superior Court Judge Robert O’Farrell to three years and eight months in state prison on seven counts, including grand theft, embezzlement and conspiracy to defraud.
His former assistant for business services, Paul Carrillo, 38, was ordered to prison for two years on five counts.
Rafaelito Tojos, 42, former clerk in the district business office who now lives in Glendale, was sent to county jail for a year on three felony counts.
Among the allegations to which the three pleaded guilty were that Mazzoni threw lavish dinners for school board members and their guests and then billed the district after claiming to be treating.
The three also admitted going to Italy with another district employee, charging the district $6,500. Mazzoni also admitted taking his wife and infant daughter to Italy at district expense.
The district also was billed, the court was told, for a flight for Tojos’ mother from Los Angeles to the Philippines.
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