June 11--Los Angeles County prosecutors on Thursday charged a former Department of Water and Power employee with 27 felonies, including embezzlement and conflicts of interest, on allegations that he misappropriated more than $4 million in public funds.
Prosecutors say Thatcus Carl Richard made more than $1 million for himself by arranging DWP video and audio job contracts for his friends' shell companies. They then subcontracted the work back to Richard's firm, Top Line Communications, authorities allege.
Richard, 64, was an audio and visual technician who worked for DWP from 1996 to 2014.
Richard is accused of enlisting his friends to set up the companies. Then he would help the utility award contracts to those firms.
The plot illegally diverted more than $4 million of DWP money, prosecutors say.
Richard was arrested Wednesday in San Bernardino County and is scheduled to be arraigned next week.
He is being held in on $1.2-million bail and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case is being prosecuted by the district attorney's public integrity division.
The allegations mark the latest headache for the utility. An audit released by City Controller Ron Galperin last month found that officials at two nonprofits associated with the DWP used work-issued credit cards for steak dinners, gasoline for their personal vehicles and other expenses.
The DWP also has been criticized over a faulty billing system in 2013 that produced some widely inaccurate charges for customers.
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