Gartman agrees to reduced charge in parade theft case

Former Gilroy City Councilman Craig Gartman, charged in May for felony grand theft of thousands of dollars from a private Memorial Day parade fund, pleaded no contest Thursday to a reduced misdemeanor, bringing an end to a bitter saga that lasted nearly two-and-a-half years.

Gartman was sentenced to two years unsupervised probation and will have to perform 200 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $6,200 in restitution – of the roughly $8,000-$9,000 he was accused of siphoning away – to the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Gilroy, the primary victim of the theft.

Gartman has already given the VFW a check for $2,500, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney John Chase, who prosecuted the case. Gartman’s lawyer, Kirk Elliott, held up a cashier’s check for the balance of the restitution in the courtroom when Judge Kenneth Shapero handed down the sentence. He said he will “personally deliver” the check to the VFW office. Gartman was ordered to submit the payment to the VFW within 48 hours of Thursday’s hearing.

When asked for comment outside the courtroom, Gartman replied, “Don’t even bother.”

During the hearing, Gartman said, “Yes” when Shapero asked him if he understood that entering a “no contest” plea is the same pleading guilty. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office requested the felony be reduced to a misdemeanor as part of a plea bargain, Chase explained.

Prosecutors were sufficiently impressed with Gartman’s partial earlier restitution payment to the VFW. Plus, the amount he was accused of stealing is “borderline” between a felony and misdemeanor grand theft, Chase said.

“Given that he made restitution prior to charging, that would be a typical situation to reduce to a misdemeanor,” Chase said.

Gartman was arrested in May following a two-year investigation by the District Attorney’s office, sparked by allegations he had inappropriately used private donations to Gilroy’s Memorial Day parade.

Gartman and Councilman Bob Dillon co-chaired the parade, and Gartman had sole possession of the parade checkbook according to court documents. Investigators interviewed a wide range of city officials and residents, including Gartman, who had trouble explaining checks he wrote to himself, according to court documents.

“That might be the most money the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has ever spent prosecuting a misdemeanor,” said Councilman Perry Woodward, who is a partner at San Jose firm Terra Law. Woodward briefly acted as a legal adviser for Gartman during interviews with investigators.

“I’m glad it’s over for the community,” Woodward said. “I’m glad it’s over for Craig. This is an unfortunate chapter in Craig’s life, but if you look at the whole book, he’s done a lot for this community. Unfortunately this will be the thing people remember.”

Staff Writer Michael Moore contributed to this report.