THOUSAND OAKS : Embezzler-Arsonist Sentenced to 1 Year

A Thousand Oaks man was sentenced Tuesday to a year in County Jail for stealing more than $33,000 from a Ventura auto dealership and then setting a fire to cover up the theft.

Jose G. Cabanas, 45, pleaded no contest in October to embezzlement and arson at Paradise Chevrolet, where he was finance manager. In the first six months of 1991, Cabanas pocketed cash payments from 18 customers amounting to $33,891, according to a probation investigator’s report.

On June 27, 1991, Cabanas’ supervisor confronted him about discrepancies in a customer’s account and said he wanted an explanation the next day, the report said. That night, the report said, Cabanas ransacked the dealership’s office and set a fire that caused damage estimated at more than $30,000.

At the sentencing Tuesday, Cabanas’ attorney, Michael B. Zimbert, asked for probation, saying his client had no prior record and had pleaded to the charges at an early stage. In addition to his punishment for the criminal charges, Cabanas has been named in a $500,000 lawsuit filed by the dealership, Zimbert said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon asked for a four-year prison term. He said the thefts had harmed some customers’ credit ratings.

He acknowledged that it was Cabanas’ first criminal conviction, but added: “This is a big one. . . . this is a huge first offense.”

Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. agreed that the crime was “a very serious offense,” but said he was impressed by the many letters he had received in support of Cabanas.

Describing it as a “very close call,” the judge decided to give Cabanas five years’ probation, including a year in jail. He also will be ordered to make restitution to the dealership or its insurance companies after a hearing scheduled for March 26.