Vista

Ed Neal, the former Vista councilman who pleaded guilty last year to a charge of misappropriating public funds, has violated the terms of his probation, county prosecutors allege.

In court papers filed earlier this month, Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel asked that Neal’s probation be revoked--a step that could result in the former official being sent to prison for a year.

Under a plea bargain with prosecutors, Neal resigned from office and pleaded guilty in April to a misdemeanor for billing the city $450 for his girlfriend’s airplane fare for a trip to Washington the previous year. He was placed on three years’ probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

But prosecutors say Neal has not paid the fine or done the community service work, which he was required to complete by Jan. 1.

Neither Neal nor his attorney, Richard Muir, could be reached for comment.

Linda Miller, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said prosecutors had not decided what penalty to seek if Superior Court Judge Richard Haden revokes Neal’s probation at a hearing Jan. 26.

“It depends on what Eddie Neal’s excuse is,” Miller said Friday.