DePaola Won’t Face Charges Over Check
The Ventura County district attorney’s office announced Thursday that it has declined to file charges against City Councilwoman Donna DePaola for allegedly writing a hot check to Seaside Park.
DePaola had been the subject of an investigation since March, when prosecutors received a complaint about a $5,000 check from her that bounced, authorities said.
The payment had been made for a building and other rentals at the park that DePaola needed to host a public New Year’s Eve bash that flopped because of low attendance.
According to prosecutors, DePaola wrote the check to the park management on Dec. 30 and it was returned for insufficient funds a day later. DePaola said in May she eventually paid that debt with a cashier’s check but still owes the park $17,000.
Although no criminal charges will be filed, DePaola is still dealing with the millennium masquerade ball that bombed. In April, DePaola, a lawyer, filed for Chapter 7 business bankruptcy for her event-planning company called DePaola Enterprises.
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