| Newsfront - Friday, October 19, 2007
Water polo coach pleads not guilty to embezzlement
Monte Vista puts coach on administrative leave
by Jordan M. Doronila
A Monte Vista High School coach has pleaded not guilty to embezzlement charges.
Todd Halverson, 37, Monte Vista girls water polo coach and aquatics coordinator for Clarke Memorial Swim Center at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek, allegedly embezzled tens of thousands of dollars paid by pool visitors by tampering with a computerized swim pass registration system, according to reports.
Jeff Tarpley, 48, Walnut Creek aquatic supervisor since 1988, has also been charged with embezzlement, accused of stealing around $150,000, said deputy district attorney Steven Bolen for Contra Costa County. Both Halverson and Tarpley were arraigned and booked Wednesday, Oct. 10. Their court date for a hearing to see if there is enough evidence to go to trail will be held Thursday, Nov. 29, at Walnut Creek Superior Court. The cases are being held separately.
Bolen said he would not comment on any of the cases' details.
City employees contacted the police when they saw financial irregularities involving Halverson and Tarpley, reports said.
Halverson, a resident of San Ramon, has been placed on administrative leave until further notice, said Terry Koehne, spokesman for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
"It's a precautionary step that the district takes when an (employee) has been accused of a serious crime," Koehne said.
Halverson has been coaching at Monte Vista since 1997 and did not return phone calls to the Danville Weekly as of press time.
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