3 More Named in L.A. School District Thefts

Three more people were charged Tuesday in the growing Los Angeles Unified School District supply theft case, and two of them immediately pleaded no contest to accusations that they helped steal more than $100,000 worth of goods.

For the first time, the criminal complaints filed by Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner involved one of the outside businesses that have been named in previous documents as having reportedly billed the school district for materials that were ordered but never delivered. The materials were later allegedly resold to others and the profits pocketed by school district employees operating the alleged theft ring.

Charged with one count each of felony grand theft were Henry Masayoshi Shimohara, 69, of Torrance, owner of Lawndale Nurseries, and George Michimasa Nakahara, 67, of Gardena, manager of the Lawndale firm.

Shimohara and Nakahara pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Municipal Court to the charges, which said they had been responsible when Lawndale billed but failed to deliver a little more than $100,000 in plants and plant holders that the school district had ordered. Sentencing was set for May 1. The men were released without bail.

Although the maximum sentence for the offense is three years in prison, Reiner announced that in exchange for Shimohara and Nakahara’s cooperation, he will ask the sentencing judge to give them no jail time, while requiring them to make full restitution of the money.

Reiner said that Shimohara and Nakahara had turned over detailed ledgers of the illicit transactions and had agreed to testify against school district employees who have already been charged in the case.

Also charged with one count of felony grand theft Tuesday was Henry Seagraves, 63, of Compton, a former pest control supervisor for the school district who retired in October, 1985.

Seagraves is accused of stealing $3,000 worth of pesticides from regular school supplies and turning them over to a private businessman to sell to others.

He surrendered to authorities Tuesday but had no attorney with him. His arraignment was postponed to March 24.

The charges filed Tuesday bring to seven the number of people formally accused in the case. Charged last week were James Leroy Riley, 55, of Lynwood, the district’s director of custodial operations; Melvin Noelani Tokunaga, 42, Agua Dulce, deputy director of that department; Robert Jose Barrios, 34, Tujunga, a senior district gardener, and Joseph Brazile, 53, Los Angeles, a power spray operator.

Reiner said Tuesday, “I certainly expect that additional persons will be charged” in a case he said has cost the school district at least $500,000 in losses.

The school district ordered Riley, Tokunaga, Barrios and Brazile suspended without pay last week. A district spokesman, Bill Rivera, said the district had no comment on the new charges, none of which involved current school employees.