City prosecutors charged a California Department of Public
Safety officer assigned to Exposition Park with misusing a state gas card,
authorities said Thursday.
Officer Cletton
Jourdan, 44, was charged with one count of theft for filling up his private vehicle
with his state-issued gas card. He is due in court June 18 for arraignment.
“Taxpayers must have
confidence that their taxes are being wisely and lawfully used, and that there
are serious consequences for any criminal misuse,” City Atty. Carmen A.
Trutanich said in a statement.
The charge comes just
days after the L.A. County district attorney's office charged three men --
including a veteran city Recreation and Parks employee -- with multiple felony
counts for allegedly selling thousands of dollars of city-owned gasoline on the
black market.
Michael Lee, a
12-year veteran of the Recreation and Parks Department, faces one count of
embezzlement and two counts of grand theft. Shane Gansterer and Howard Lee
James each were charged with one count of receiving stolen property. All have
pleaded not guilty.
According to LAPD
officials, Lee was allegedly pilfering gas from two police pumps and a
Department of Transportation fueling station.
LAPD detectives were
tipped to the alleged scheme in early April when a caller reported seeing a man
selling fuel from the back of a city truck near the corner of 109th Street and
Vermont Avenue. The woman alerted police after seeing a televised news
conference in which City Controller Wendy Greuel announced the city was missing
$7 million worth of fuel.
In the latest case
involving the state employee, state prosecutors said Jourdan bought $80.41
worth of gas for his state vehicle on Dec. 1, 2011, prosecutors said. He
returned to the same gas station 10 minutes later and allegedly purchased
$40.59 in fuel, using the same state-issued gas card, for a private vehicle
driven by his friend.
Both receipts were
turned in to his department. A supervisor launched an investigation after
noticing the charges during a routine check. As part of the probe, officials
found the transactions were captured on the gas station’s surveillance cameras.