A former Gilroy Unified School District trustee was handcuffed and led away holding back tears Thursday following a formal apology to his family and the community of Gilroy, but the display of raw emotion did little to sway the outcome of his sentence.
Originating nearly six years ago and continuing to make headlines as more allegations came to light, the case climaxed Thursday when a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge ordered Francisco Dominguez to immediately start serving nine months in jail.
Donning a gray sport coat and black leather shoes, Dominguez looked surprised and disappointed at the repercussions for committing two felony counts related to swindling thousands of dollars from a Gilroy charity called the South County Collaborative; an international engineering firm; and his 2010 campaign fund for his run as a School Board trustee.
Following sentencing by Judge Daniel Nishigaya in Dept. 38 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose, Dominguez, 51, was handcuffed and immediately remanded to the custody of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
The sole proprietor of DZ Consulting in Gilroy, Dominguez came under fire in May 2011 for alleged “systematic overbilling” – approximately $52,600 – related to contract work he was hired to do by the South County Collaborative.
In September 2008, the nonprofit hired Dominguez to manage a five-year, $125,000-per-year, federal Drug Free Communities grant. During two years of managing the grant, however, Dominguez fleeced the agency of more than $50,000 according to the agency’s former treasurer, longtime Gilroy accountant John Blaettler.
And in February 2011, four months after the Collaborative decided not to hire Dominguez for a third year for the DFC grant, he entered into a contract with a large international engineering and construction firm, the Parsons Corporation. Between April and October 2011, Dominguez submitted invoices and weekly timesheets to Parsons detailing hours of work he claimed were spent meeting with community members to promote California High Speed Rail.
After allegations surfaced related to Dominguez’s questionable work for the South County Collaborative – which the Dispatch researched and published a story on in May 2011 – this newspaper also investigated Dominguez’s work for the High Speed Rail; obtained his billing records by filing a Public Records Act request; and called community members he claimed to have met with as part of his $80,000 contract to perform community outreach in South County for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. But roughly a dozen of those individuals and community groups said those meetings never happened, even though Dominguez billed Parsons for his work.
The Deputy District Attorney confirmed in a memorandum submitted to the court Thursday that Dominguez never met with those listed individuals and did not attend the meetings he billed the Collaborative for.
“When a trusted public official steals from a nonprofit, a corporation and a campaign committee and then (he) invents false excuses for his behavior, that official will not get the message if his punishment is nothing more than an order to perform community service or to wear a bracelet at home,” Chase continued, pushing in favor of a county jail sentence. “The public deserves to know that its government officials are held accountable for their crimes, especially when they do not truly accept responsibility or show remorse.”
Esau Herrera, the San Jose-based attorney representing Dominguez, asserted Thursday that the former GUSD trustee – who resigned from the position in November 2009 – has accepted responsibility for his misconduct and argued for alternative programs such as electronic monitoring instead of hard time.
Nishigaya ordered Dominguez to pay restitution in the amount of $56,070 to the South County Collaborative in addition to 10 percent interest that began accruing Thursday.
“In this county, there is some substantial public attention paid to public officials who are alleged to have committed some crimes …regarding use of funds that were donated for a particular purpose,” Herrera said. “I’m aware that there is some public sentiment to come down heavy on individuals that are accused of that. (Chase) believes Dominguez should go to jail; I respectfully disagree.”
Dominguez has already “been punished in the court of public opinion,” lost his livelihood and caused his family to feel a sense of shame and ridicule, Herrera added.
“Even today, I see that existing now with a member of the press to further add to a sense of punishment, a sense of shame, a sense of guilt – all of which Francisco accepts responsibility for,” Herrera added, pointing to a Dispatch reporter sitting in the courtroom.
Dominguez briefly addressed the court, apologizing to Gilroy for his actions prior to being remanded.
“I do want to express my sincere apologies to the court, to the stress that I’ve caused for my family and for the shame and humiliation that I’ve suffered – but also apologize to the community of Gilroy,” Dominguez said, before choking up and pausing for a moment to compose himself. “I know that I need to work towards gaining the trust of my family and my community, and also of the court, and that’s what I wish to do, your honor.”
Chase argued that “actual county jail” is justice in this case and a more significant punishment than alternative programs such as home detention.
“We can’t allow our government officials to commit crimes, repeated crimes against a charity; against a corporation; against his own campaign; commit perjury; and then just let them walk free with a bracelet,” he said.
Nishigaya said, taking into consideration the felony convictions, the “seriousness of the charges” and the vulnerability of at least one of the victims, referring to the Collaborative, a moderate county jail sentence is appropriate.
Herrera said he was “surprised” and that he didn’t anticipate Dominguez to be remanded Thursday.
“(Dominguez) has had adequate time and consideration to prepare himself for the punitive consequence of serving time in county jail and should prepare to be remanded – and that is this court’s practice,” Nishigaya said.
But according to Chase, Dominguez will likely not serve a full nine-month sentence, since the Department of Corrections will determine if he’s eligible for alternative programs.
“He’s a public official who committed serious crimes,” he added. “(People) should always care if any of our public officials commit crimes because we need our public officials and government employees to be honest and forthright in their jobs.”
Three years ago, Blaettler first noticed inconsistencies involving Dominguez’s billing practices for the Collaborative – a feeling he recalls to this day.
“Even though it took three years, justice was finally served,” said Blaettler, upon hearing Dominguez’s sentence Friday. “Hopefully the Collaborative will get that money at some point so they can put it to good use in the community, where it belongs.”
Though Marilyn Roaf is no longer an active board member with the Collaborative – she most recently served on the board in 2012 – she asserted the Gilroy charity has maintained its nonprofit status and is still operational.
“I’m sure (the restitution) will be welcomed and put to a legitimate use,” Roaf said. “It’s a shame what happened.”
– September 2008: The nonprofit South County Collaborative hired DZ Consulting (owned and operated solely by Francisco Dominguez, also a Gilroy Unified School District Trustee at the time) to manage a five-year, $125,000-per-year, federal Drug Free Communities grant that was renewable annually.
– 2009 through late 2010: DZ Consulting had control of the South County Collaborative’s checkbook.
– September 2010: Issues with funding come to light when John Blaettler, longtime accountant and treasurer for the South County Collaborative, noticed “inaccuracies,” or billings submitted by Dominguez that exceeded what was allocated by his contract.
– November 2010: Blaettler presents his findings to the South County Collaborative Board of Directors.
– February/March 2011: Dominguez agrees to make payments to the Collaborative, according to Blaettler. The Collaborative chooses not to seek legal action.
– March 25: Frustrated over “the lack of accountability,” John Blaettler formally resigns as treasurer from the Collaborative.
– May 30, 2011: Dispatch breaks the news that Dominguez had come under fire for “systematic” embezzlement.
– May 31, 2011: The Gilroy Foundation Board, a nonprofit organization serving Gilroy, severs a $70,000 grant it obtained to assist the Collaborative. It also took back from the Collaborative a shared office space.
– June 2011: The DA’s office launched an investigation following reports published in the Dispatch.
– October 2012: The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office charged Dominguez with two counts of felony grand theft for defrauding the Parsons Corporation – a large international engineering and construction firm – as well as the South County Collaborative out of “tens of thousands of dollars.”
– May 7, 2013: Dominguez is charged with four new felonies by the DA’s office, including grand theft and three counts of perjury based on Dominguez’s use of campaign contributions during his successful 2010 GUSD School Board race.
– July 29, 2013: Dominguez pled no contest to one count of grand theft, three counts of perjury and two counts count of felony grand theft. He was convicted on all counts and faced up to one year in jail, probation, an estimated $40,000 to $50,000 in restitution payments to the South County nonprofit organization and another restitution payment in the ballpark of $10,000 to Parsons, according to Deputy District Attorney John Chase.
– October 2013: Sentencing and probation for Dominguez was postponed after Judge Daniel Nishigaya continued the hearing after a request came in from the Parsons Corporation seeking restitution.
– Nov. 21, 2013: Dominguez sentenced to nine months in county jail beginning immediately. A restitution hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 21, 2014 in Dept. 38 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
