Probation Officer Pleads Guilty to Pocketing Fines
A former Los Angeles County probation officer pleaded guilty Thursday to accepting payment of fines from his charges, then pocketing the cash rather than sending it to the proper state fund.
Albert Goodall, 42, entered his pleas to one count each of embezzlement of public funds and embezzlement by a public officer as his preliminary hearing was about to get under way in Los Angeles Municipal Court.
He faces up to a year in jail and a requirement he make restitution. He will be sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 28.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Eloise Phillips said Goodall worked for at least three years in the Crenshaw and Santa Monica probation offices. “Probationers are supposed to send their fines to a (state office) but . . . they often will just hand it over to their probation officer,” Phillips said.
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