Former Betting Supervisor at Fair Denies Embezzling

The former supervisor of the horse race betting center at the state-run Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster has been charged with embezzling $26,500 in public funds over a two-year period, but he has raised a similar complaint against the fair’s manager.

Jack L. Farmer Jr., 46, of Glendale, who was fired in April as supervisor of the off-track wagering center, pleaded not guilty Monday in Antelope Municipal Court to one felony count of embezzlement by a public official. He faces up to four years in state prison if convicted.

In court documents released Tuesday, however, Farmer accused fair Manager Jim Pacini of skimming other fair funds under Farmer’s control to make personal horse-racing bets, and of blocking Farmer’s efforts to ensure that those funds were properly deposited.

But Sheriff’s Detective Jerry Bluff said his months-long investigation was unable to substantiate Farmer’s allegation against Pacini. And barring any new information, Bluff said, the investigation is now closed and no additional suspects are likely to face criminal charges.

The charge against Farmer is the latest in a string of alleged improprieties by fair executives. Pacini’s predecessor was convicted of misdemeanor grand theft of fair property in 1990. Farmer’s predecessor was convicted of embezzling fair funds in 1989.

Farmer is accused of siphoning $26,500 from the fair’s wagering center between January, 1990, and February, 1992. Authorities allege he took money on 128 occasions in amounts of $100 to $400 from the center’s “ComCheck” account, which provides patrons with cash charged to their credit cards.

State auditors were able to uncover the thefts, even though all 128 ComCheck daily record sheets were missing for the days involved. The auditors said the thefts coincided with the times when Farmer was in charge of the funds.

Farmer is free on $10,000 bail pending a Nov. 19 preliminary hearing before Antelope Municipal Judge Ian Grant. Attorney Robert A. Adelman, who is representing Farmer, said he plans to argue that someone else took the money.

In one document filed with the case, fair Security Director John Graham, a former high-ranking Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, said Farmer told him that on at least three occasions Pacini had “borrowed” unspecified amounts of other fair funds that Farmer controlled to bet on races. Adelman confirmed that this is Farmer’s version.

“Each time, Pacini would state, ‘I’ll pay this back later,’ ” Graham wrote in relating Farmer’s story. Farmer also claimed that Pacini stopped him from arranging weekly deposits of the money earned from sales of a racing publication, and the money was kept in Farmer’s desk drawer.

Pacini, who has been the fair’s manager since mid-1989, was in Sacramento on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. Paul Whitson, president of the fair board, said he knew of no wrongdoing by Pacini.