Moments after returning from a vacation in Colombia, former Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva was arrested Sunday at San Francisco International Airport on suspicion of mishandling money when he ran a youth organization more than two years ago.
Silva, 42, was transported to the San Joaquin County Jail, where he was held in lieu of $1 million bail.
He faces grand jury charges of grand theft, embezzlement, profiteering, misappropriation of public funds and money laundering. A white-collar crime enhancement was imposed on all charges, which indicates a "pattern of related felony conduct" and the theft of more than $100,000.
Silva's attorney, Allen Sawyer, denied the accusations, which he said were related to Silva's time running the nonprofit Stockton Kids Club. The club was renamed after the national Boys & Girls Club of America revoked the Stockton Boys & Girls Club's charter in 2013. The local club was under Silva's leadership at the time.
"The kids club is a nonprofit run by a board of directors, and, as far as we know, none of them has made a complaint," Sawyer said Sunday. "We really don't know where this is all coming from."
The San Joaquin County district attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Silva's attorney said the allegations may be retaliation after the former mayor beat back a felony charge in a previous case in which Silva was accused of using a cell phone to secretly record a strip poker game in his bedroom at a city-run youth camp for underprivileged children. Authorities also alleged that Silva made alcohol available during the game. One of the participants was a 16-year-old boy.
Silva was arrested in connection with that case in Amador County in August 2016. He was charged with felony eavesdropping, a charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor in October, and three other misdemeanor charges: child endangerment, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and providing alcohol to a person under 21.
The former mayor was scheduled to have a hearing in that case this Tuesday, after Silva's rejection of a settlement agreement in November that would have closed the case.
Last year, Silva, a first-time mayor, lost his re-election bid by more than 40 percentage points to Michael Tubbs, a 26-year-old Democrat. Silva, a populist Republican, was elected in an upset in 2012, the year Stockton filed for bankruptcy and struggled to rein in a sky-high homicide rate.
"He's angry, tired of this whole deal, but also ready to go in and fight to clear his name again," Sawyer said.
(c)2017 the San Francisco Chronicle
