DA: Ex-Pasadena City Official, Contractor Sentenced In $3M Embezzlement Scheme

click to expand

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A former Pasadena public works analyst and a contractor have been sentenced for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in city money over a decade, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Danny Wooten was sentenced Friday to 14 years in state prison, two months after he was found guilty of 53 counts, including embezzlement, conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds.

Co-defendant Tyrone Collins was convicted of 20 counts, including embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. He received a seven-year sentence,

Wooten was a management analyst in the city's Public Works Dept., which was in charge of relocating all of the city's utility lines underground. Between 2004 and March 2014, the D.A. says Wooten created false invoices for the underground utility program and stole roughly $3.5 million.

According to prosecutors, he funneled some of the stolen money to Collins, who owns Collins Electric.

Wooten was also accused of creating bank accounts purporting to represent two religious organizations.

The scheme was discovered in an audit ordered in 2014.

Wooten and Collins were ordered to pay $3,695,891 and $900,000 in restitution, respectively.