Lea este artículo en español aquí.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Department identified Mary Alvarez as a second person suspected of being involved in the San Benito County Free Library embezzlement case.
Undersheriff Tom Keylon told BenitoLink his office submitted charges to the district attorney’s office for conspiracy to commit embezzlement.
The library has been under the spotlight since 2023 when BenitoLInk reported the Sheriff was investigating a criminal complaint. The investigation, led by the FBI, has resulted in embezzlement charges for former supervising librarian Erin Baxter. She is accused of spending between $100,000 and $500,000 of library funds between July 2022 and April 2023 on merchandise.
District Attorney Joel Buckingham confirmed his office received the Sheriff’s report but could not confirm the name of the person being investigated. He added that he will review the case upon receiving additional information from the Sheriff’s office. He estimated he could complete the review by Aug. 2.
“The protection of taxpayers funds and the recognition that this is money of hard working individuals is our paramount priority,” Buckingham said.
Around the time the investigation began, then-librarian Nora Conte retired. It is unclear if her retirement had anything to do with the investigation. BenitoLink also confirmed that other staff members resigned, but the county did not disclose how many. Baxter and Alvarez were among the staff that resigned.
New librarian announced
San Benito County, in a news release, announced on July 16 it appointed Austin Curtis as the librarian. According to the release, Curtis has been with the library for more than a year. He previously worked for the Merced County Library and before that he volunteered with the Stanislaus County Library. Curtis obtained his Master’s degree in Library & Information Science in 2022.
“I’m excited for this new opportunity and look forward to collaborating with the community and county, in this new role, to bring vital programs and services to the community,” Curtis said.
Since Conte’s retirement, Manny Gonzalez has been serving as the interim librarian.
In March, the county was set to consider hiring a new librarian but the item was removed from the Board of Supervisors’ agenda. San Benito County Public Information Officer Rosemerry Dere previously said that the county decided to go in a different direction. In June she said the county was going through a thorough background check process for one candidate for the position.
In April, the Board of Supervisors moved in a 4-1 vote to reduce the number of years of experience they would require from job applicants because the county “experienced multiple unsuccessful recruitments,” according to the staff report.
Related BenitoLink articles:
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.
The post Sheriff identifies second suspect in library embezzlement case appeared first on BenitoLink.