A former analyst for the Pasadena Public Works Department and a former Pasadena city contractor have been convicted on 73 criminal counts of embezzlement, conflict of interest, and misappropriation of public funds.
Los Angeles County prosecutors say the two men, former Public Works management analyst Danny Wooten and Collins Electric owner Tyrone Collins, stole around $3.5 million in city funds between 2004 and 2014.
Wooten created false invoices for the city’s underground utility program and then funneled some of the stolen money to co-defendant Collins.
“Wooten also created bank accounts purporting to represent two religious organizations,” according to the DA’s office. “However, he was the only person on the account, the prosecutor said.”
Auditors discovered the scheme in 2014, a decade after it began. An investigation was subsequently launched by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and the City of Pasadena.
Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd prosecuted the case. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11.