“We were lucky to have him, I thought.”
That is how Corona-Norco Unified School District Superintendent Michael Lin reflected on the 27-year tenure of Ted Eugene Rozzi as the district’s director of facilities.
Rozzi, who was in charge of construction projects, was respected well beyond district boundaries, Lin noted. The facilities chief sat on several state boards and in 2017 won an award from the Association of California School Administrators for being one of the state’s top department managers.
But that faith was gutted in 2019 when Rozzi was charged with 15 counts of money laundering and 16 other crimes. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said Rozzi stole as much as $2.6 million in public money by conspiring with Edward Curtis Mierau, the head of Ontario-based Neff Construction.
Rozzi, 61, a Redlands resident, resigned in August 2017 and is due to enter pleas in Superior Court in Riverside on Nov. 13. Mierau, 66, of Ladera Ranch, was also charged with money laundering and other crimes. He has a Nov. 13 court date as well. His attorney, Rod Pacheco, has said Mierau is innocent.
A subsequent audit by a state agency that was ordered by the Riverside County Office of Education found what it said were lapses in Corona-Norco’s financial practices; most notably, that there was little oversight of Rozzi, who reported only to the superintendent.
Lin, who was promoted to superintendent in 2012, said he never questioned the arrangement.
“He’s the expert,” Lin said Thursday, Oct. 29, in his first interview since the scandal.
The district swiftly made changes after the charges were brought. The new facilities director, John Vondriska, now reports to the assistant superintendent for business services, Alan P. Giles. Giles reports to the superintendent. If there is, for example, a change order — an increased cost on some aspect of a construction project — that paperwork from facilities is examined by Giles’ office and then goes to the superintendent.
Court documents allege that Rozzi would request that Neff advance money to the district to cover the cost of some portions of a construction project and have Mierau make the checks out to one of Rozzi’s personal credit card accounts. Prosecutors say in court documents that Mierau handed some of the checks to Rozzi at restaurants.
Lin said he doesn’t know how the district could have caught the delivery of the checks to Rozzi.
“Each check is like you writing a check to Michael Lin. How would you detect that?” Lin said.
The district said its first whiff of impropriety came in May 2017 when facilities employee Nancy Baker discovered a document that said Rozzi requested Neff write a check to Bank of America and give it to Rozzi. Baker learned that the district doesn’t do business with that bank and reported her concerns to the Sheriff’s Department.
Lin called it “vindication” that the district discovered and reported the suspicious activity.
Nevertheless, Lin added, “I’m not here to tell you that we are pushing any responsibility away. At the end of the day, I’m in charge. I’m the superintendent. I take full responsibility.”
Lin, 55, however, is likely in his final days as superintendent. He announced on Aug. 4 that he was retiring and would stay until replaced. On Oct. 31, the district announced that it was negotiating with Deputy Superintendent Sam Buenrostro to become superintendent.
The district did receive some good news about its financial practices in October.
Corona-Norco is one of about 11 districts in the state with “fiscal independence,” which allows it to write its own checks and handle its own payroll, instead of the county office assuming those tasks. Such districts must show they have controls in place to protect taxpayer money.
But a second audit requested by the County Office of Education, in 2020, placed that status in jeopardy. The audit, however, concluded that the district is now following proper procedures, said Tina Daigneault, the county office’s chief business official
“We are not looking at revoking their fiscal independence,” she said. “They already made the changes needed. They (previously) had the right people doing the wrong things.”
The effort to recoup the money that prosecutors say was stolen will continue after Lin leaves.
The district has already received $1.1 million from its insurance company.
“We are still very, very angry,” Lin said. “We will do everything we can to get the money back for the community. … We need to continue to be vigilant because we can never allow this to happen again.”
Source: Orange County Register
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