LAKEPORT — A judge ruled Thursday that sufficient evidence existed for the embezzlement charges against a former executive director of the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center to move to trial.
Judge Andrew Blum said that the standard of a “strong suspicion” had been established by the District Attorney”s office through evidence presented and testimony heard during the three-day preliminary hearing.
Rowland Mosser worked as the center”s executive director from January 2002 until he resigned in August 2005.
Mosser has been charged with two counts of embezzlement and two counts of grand theft exceeding $400 for alleged acts occurring between Jan. 1, 2005 and Aug. 12, 2005. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Jan. 29.
Attorney Jacob Zamora represented Mosser and Attorney Gary Luck represented the Lake County District Attorney”s Office.
Judge Blum said the prosecution established Mosser had motive and opportunity to steal funds from the center.
Luck attempted to show Mosser had a motive to embezzle money by introducing bank statements of an account in the name of Jayne Mosser, Rowland Mosser”s wife.
The statements, dating from January 2003 through February 2005, indicated that Jayne Mosser”s account had been solvent until late 2004 and were closed in February 2005 with negative funds.
The prosecution called two final witnesses during the five-hour day session.
Aura Thomas, the center”s financial record keeper from November 2004 to September 2005, was the day”s first witness.
Thomas, who is a registered nurse and previously worked at the Record-Bee as News Editor, testified that at the time she began working as the center”s bookkeeper, she had limited accounting experience.
She said during 2005 she began falling behind in balancing the books in part because she lacked bookkeeping experience for non-profit organizations. “There needed to be a real bookkeeper,” Thomas testified.
Thomas said the center had gotten behind in paying its bills in 2005 to the point that food vendor Sysco Corporation levied one of the center”s bank accounts.
Certified Public Accountant Diane Plante appeared as an expert witness for the prosecution and testified that she reviewed the center”s books beginning in September 2005 at the center”s request, and then again in 2009 after being commissioned by the District Attorney”s office.
Plante testified she found that a cash-basis profit-loss report for the center for January 2005 to August 2005 indicated a profit of nearly $26,000 during that span.
Plante said she found during 2004 through mid-2005 that the rate of unpaid bills increased. Plante testified that she found a positive relationship between the increase in unpaid bills and an increase in income earned by the center.
Plante said that her reviews of the center”s financial records “established a lot of bad accounting” during the period from January 2005 to August 2005.
Mosser will be arraigned Nov. 8 at 8:15 a.m. at the Lake County Courthouse.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
