2nd Embezzlement Count Is Lodged Against Dixon
A second count of felony embezzlement has been filed against Robert J. Dixon, the former utilities director accused of embezzling $1.8 million from the city.
Dixon pleaded not guilty to both counts during a pretrial hearing Friday before Judge Susanne S. Shaw at Harbor Municipal Court.
The additional count raises to seven years the maximum sentence Dixon faces if convicted. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 5.
“After looking through the evidence, it seems he was involved in two embezzlement schemes at the same time,” said Dist. Atty. Craig McKinnon. Those two schemes, he said, involved oil leases and water easement rights.
Dixon’s attorney Stephan A. DeSales said, “We knew they were going to do that. It wasn’t surprising.”
Dixon’s defense attorneys said they will present more than seven psychological evaluations of their client as evidence of what they call self-destructive tendencies and manic-depressive behavior.
“A lot of what he’s accused of doing relates directly to his psychological behavior,” said DeSales.
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