San Bernardino Co., CA District Attorney’s Office’s investigation into embezzlement schemes involving local teachers unions concluded on Jul. 8, when San Bernardino Co. Superior Court sentenced Nancy Hooper to 180 days of electronic surveillance. Hooper had pled guilty to 8 counts of grand theft embezzlement and 1 count of receiving stolen property. Hooper stole more than $36,000 from the Fontana Teachers Association’s checking account for her personal use. The former Fontana City Councilwoman was also ordered to pay $11,000 in restitution, which is on top of $22,000 already paid. She will also pay the $400 monthly surveillance cost.
This comes less than a month after a Rialto, CA teachers union official was sentenced to 28 months in prison for embezzling about $110,000 from the Rialto Educators Association and Citrus Belt UniServ which oversees several area teachers unions including Fontana Teachers Association. Mary Jane Bronson pleaded guilty to 2 counts of grand theft embezzlement on May 12 and was sentenced Jun. 12. Bronson too took the money from union coffers for personal use. She was ordered to pay $106,769 in restitution. The Rialto union has implemented new safeguards attempting to prevent similar crimes, but as a union offical adeptly commented, “But it always seems as though people can find away to steal money [from a union] if they really want to.” [Riverside Press-Enterprise 05/13/98, 06/13/98 & 07/09/98]