Rowland James Mosser, 66, who was the center's director from July 2002 to August 2005, was in Judge Andrew Blum's Department 3 courtroom Tuesday for the proceedings.
Mosser is charged with two felony counts of embezzlement and two felony grand theft counts for allegedly taking funds from the center between Jan. 1, 2005, and Aug. 12, 2005.
Deputy District Attorney Gary Luck said in a previous interview that he doesn't have a firm amount for the money allegedly taken from the center during that period of time.
Luck took the case to preliminary hearing early in 2009 but later asked for the charges to be dismissed while a forensic examination of the center's financial records was conducted, as Lake County News has reported. He refiled the case in September 2009.
He estimated the hearing should take two and a half days.
Luck told the court Tuesday that the chief investigator on the case, Ron Larsen, a retired Clearlake Police Department captain who in recent years has worked as a part-time investigator for the District Attorney's Office, is ill and was unable to appear for the hearing. Luck asked to be able to submit a copy of the preliminary hearing transcript from early 2009, which included Larsen's testimony.
Jacob Zamora, Mosser's defense attorney, agreed to allow the transcript in, but only for the preliminary hearing, not for any trial that might result. Blum received the transcript later in the day and planned to start going through it.
During brief opening statements, Luck alleged that Mosser and his wife, Jayne – was was previously charged with a county of felony grand theft that later was dropped – received a financial windfall of about $160,000 in mid-2003.
He said the evidence would show that the Mossers had spent all of the money by 2005, when their bank account was closed with penalty fees.
At the end of 2004 and throughout the rest of Rowland Mosser's tenure at the senior center in 2005, Luck alleged that the tracking of donations coming into the center disappeared.
He alleged that payment of vendors also ceased at the end of 2004, with financial judgments from vendors being lodged against the center at that time. Taxes being withheld from employees' paychecks weren't paid to the state and federal government, Luck said.
Zamora briefly countered, “There was simply no money to steal.”
Over the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, Luck called six witnesses who had worked at the center in various volunteer capacities.
Donna Christopher, who lives just a few doors down from the center, recalled regularly attending events at the center with her family, and making donations of time, money and items, such as durable medical equipment.
Bill Ellis, 92, a longtime board member and the center's former treasurer, recalled how in 2005 the center's checks began bouncing, and how he paid for several energy bills, each totaling more than $2,000.
Jim Swatts of Clearlake Oaks, the center's former board chair, testified to being appointed to the position in July of 2005. Beforehand, he had no affiliation with the center other than attending events and breakfasts there.
After his appointment, he said he found out about the center's financial situation, which wasn't good.
Swatts said Mosser asked him in August 2005 if he could give the senior center board a financial report in closed session. Swatts said he told Mosser no, that he needed to give the report in open session.
“I said it would be given in an open meeting, he said he would not do it,” Swatts said.
Swatts said he then asked the board for a closed session to have a personnel discussion. “I wanted to know when the last time Mr. Mosser was graded on performance,” Swatts said.
Mosser later entered that closed session, went ahead and handed out the financial report against Swatts' direction and also gave the board a piece of paper that said he was resigning in two weeks. After Mosser left the room, the board voted to accept the resignation, Swatts testified.
Immediately afterward, Swatts gave Mosser a letter approved by the board putting him on administrative leave for two weeks. Swatts then collected Mosser's keys and Mosser left.
Swatts recounted having to knock the hinges off a small combination safe in Mosser's office, in which Swatts and several other center board members and volunteers found an envelope marked “bingo” with $500 inside, and other envelope containing less than $98.
Swatts said the Internal Revenue Service informed him that the center owed the government back tax money. During one conversation they told Swatts that they planned to shut the center down within 24 hours if some action wasn't taken.
Swatts and then-Lakeport Senior Center Executive Director Marilyn Johnson worked together to try to get the center on track, he said. J.J. Jackson later was hired as the Lucerne senior center's executive director.
Lillian Sherry, 83, the center's former treasurer and thrift shop volunteer, took over as treasurer for Ellis in April 2005 after Ellis had heart surgery. Like Swatts, she recounted opening the safe in Mosser's former office, with her account matching his regarding what was found in the safe.
Luck also called to the stand Lauralei Smith, who testified about volunteering at the center and taking cash at events, which she turned over to Mosser.
Former senior center board member Eva Mooney, who had been involved in running the center's rose garden and thrift shop, recalled having to reduce her commitments to the center in order to care for her 100-year-old mother in the spring of 2005, with her mother dying that summer.
Mooney said she didn't recall being present at the meeting where Mosser resigned. Her term had ended in July 2005.
“I was just glad it ended,” she said, explaining that she was increasingly getting upset having to deal with the center.
After Mosser left, she said people at the center were cold and rude. “I think they were just not caring.”
Mooney recalled never seeing any money from a duck race event in 2005, and said the family of a woman who died donated a large number of items to the center for the thrift shop, but the items never appeared in the shop. She say Jayne Mosser told her they could get more for the items on eBay
When she handed money from the thrift shop over to Mosser, Mooney recalled that he usually just put it in his pocket, not verifying the amount.
While a board member at the center, Mooney didn't recall Mosser reporting that tax levies or judgments had been placed against the center.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
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