CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE : Endorsement of Checks Admitted

The former Associated Students vice president at Cal State Northridge has admitted that he endorsed $262.50 of his former administrative assistant’s paychecks without her consent and kept them for himself.

Arturo Velasquez, who resigned in February, said he took three of Jennifer Best’s $87.50 paychecks from late December through January, endorsed them and kept the money.

“If I knew what I was doing was wrong, I wouldn’t have done it,” Velasquez said, adding that he believed that he was doing Best’s job and should have been compensated accordingly.

Velasquez said he has repaid the money, and the checks have been reissued to Best.

“Let’s just say we had a communication problem,” Velasquez said, referring to his relationship with Best.

When Best went to pick up her paychecks at the AS office, she was told that they were not there. “I wasn’t getting my paychecks,” she said. “One of the secretaries said Arturo had them . . . Arturo told the secretary I said it was OK.”

Best, an AS senator, said she did not give Velasquez permission to hold the checks.

According to an AS accountant, a paycheck is supposed to be signed for by the person to whom it is made out when it is picked up.

Best said that at the time she confronted Velasquez, he had been withholding her checks for about a month, but told her that he had only been dissatisfied with her work for the past week. Best said she was the third administrative assistant that Velasquez had since he took office in June.

Although AS President Michelle Cooper knew that Velasquez had been keeping Best’s checks from her, she was initially unaware that he had been keeping the money, Best said. Later, when Cooper found out about the checks, Best said she was asked by Cooper to keep it quiet. “Michelle asked me not to press charges . . . so I didn’t,” Best said.

Cooper said that when the situation was brought to her attention, it was dealt with in a confidential meeting.

“We didn’t feel it was necessary to make it a public issue,” she said.

At the time of his resignation in February, Velasquez had said that he was leaving for personal reasons. When asked last week if the paycheck issue had caused him to resign, Velasquez said he left because of family problems.

In an April 8 telephone interview, Cooper initially said Velasquez had resigned for personal reasons. Minutes later, however, she said the resignation was connected to the check endorsing.

“Arturo only had one option and that was to resign. . . . When the situation was brought to my attention, action was taken; a resignation was tendered,” Cooper said.

Officials at the dean of students office said they could not release information regarding any disciplinary action that might have been taken against Velasquez.