City supervisor gets year in jail for OT kickback scheme
A state judge sentenced a former supervisor in the city’s street sweeping division today to one year in jail for collecting more than $19,000 in overtime for work he didn’t perform and for taking kickbacks from subordinates for verifying overtime they didn’t perform.
Circuit Judge Randal Lee also ordered Manuel R.K. Castro, 51, to pay a $25,000 fine, perform 250 hours of community service, write a letter of apology to the city and pay back the overtime he didn’t deserve.
Castro pleaded no contest last October to bribery, second-degree theft and tampering with a government record. The $25,000 is the maximum fine for bribery.
Four others previously pleaded guilty or no contest to theft charges in connection with the overtime kickback scheme.
Two of Castro’s former subordinates and another supervisor were granted deferrals of the pleas and have the opportunity to clear the charges from the criminal records. A third subordinate is scheduled to be sentenced later this month to probation, according to the terms of his plea agreement with the prosecutor.
Deputy City Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said Castro claimed the overtime to boost his retirement. Castro retired in 2009 after police confronted him with the theft, bribery and tampering accusations.
Van Marter said he will ask the state Employee Retirement System to adjust Castro’s retirement pay.
