Delta College flea market under investigation

Ex-student activity chief also focus of criminal allegations
By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
November 22, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - San Joaquin Delta College police are investigating allegations of fraud, embezzlement and sexual harassment in connection with the college's weekend flea market, a fundraising staple for student government and clubs.

Delta's former supervisor of student activities is one, but not the only, subject of the ongoing investigation, according to a police memo obtained by The Record.

The memo says the supervisor - who is not named in the document - knowingly hired flea market employees with criminal records, ranging from property crime to murder. Some were students, a college spokesman said.

The supervisor allegedly spent $600,000 in personal funds over five years for the student government and was reimbursed by the college, allowing large sums of money to be spent without prior approval. The report also says that cash receipts and documents were shredded, as noted by an outside auditor hired by the college to investigate.

The supervisor "failed to provide positive leadership to the students in regard to spending," the report says. Travel expenses for student government exceeded college policy, and an "inordinate" amount of money was spent on clothing, luggage, scholarships, expensive meals and hotel suites, the report says.

Delta College officials released the document to the Associated Student Body Government earlier this week after students criticized new and stricter policies governing spending.

Students and club advisers have for weeks paraded before the college's Board of Trustees protesting the new policies, which require pre-approval of minor purchases among other safeguards. This is not always practical, students and some advisers argue.

Delta spokesman Greg Greenwood said the report about the ongoing investigation was released to explain these new policies.

"We want to make sure the (student government) understands why we're placing all of these controls on them," Greenwood said.

The college plans to implement 14 new procedures to ensure accountability, he said.

The state Education Code says community college boards already "must provide for the supervision of all funds raised by any student body ... using the name of the college."

Greenwood said the flea market, which brings in about $500,000 a year, has been scrutinized at times for more than a decade. The new investigation suggests a "much more severe" situation, he said.

The money in question does not belong to the college. In a 2003 interview with The Collegian, Delta College's student newspaper, President Raul Rodriguez questioned student-body government expenditures for admission to Disneyland as well as a $546 meal at Le Bistro.

These may not be illegal purchases, Rodriguez said at the time, "but it's a matter of appearances and ethics."

Student Body President Valerie Novak acknowledged Friday that the flea market needs management. "We recognize there is a problem and that it needs to be addressed," she said.

But, she added, the current student government inherited the problem.

"It's not us," Novak said. "The problem was not the students. It was the adviser."

She defended current student government spending. Yearly trips to a Washington, D.C., community college convention are valuable networking opportunities, she said. Some students need help with dress or luggage to be able to make such a trip.

Novak said delays in clearance from the administration have forced students to book pricier hotel rooms.

She said the student government would get professional help to audit its own books, but she continued to argue that pre-approval of all expenses for many clubs is not practical.

As for the criminal investigation, Greenwood said the case would be forwarded to county prosecutors if the evidence confirms the allegations.

The five-page report contained no specific details on the allegation of sexual harassment.

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