After embezzling public funds, a railway executive from California constructed an opulent flat inside a historic train station, where he lived while putting in eighty hours a week at work.
The San Mateo County District Attorney said Thursday that Joseph Navarro had been found guilty of spending $42,000 to construct his own private residence within the Burlingame rail station, which is 16 miles south of San Francisco.
The private pad was furnished with a bedroom, living room and gym by Navarro, who was the former deputy director at Caltrain.
Under the pretence of remodelling an office, the 67-year-old plotted with Seth Worden, a former station manager and TASI employee, to approve construction costs to turn a portion of the historic structure into a residence.
Worden, 62, was also charged with spending an extra $8,000 to build his own residence three miles down the rail at the Millbrae station.
The backroom projects were planned by the two between 2019 and 2021.
According to the rail service, Caltrain officials were informed about Worden’s digs in 2020 but were not informed about Navarro’s location until they received an anonymous tip in 2022.
Almost three years after the project was finished, in March 2024, the two men were arraigned.
Following the arraignments, Executive Director Michelle Bouchard declared, “The misuse of public funds for private use is a violation of the law, Caltrain policy, and the public’s trust.”
“Caltrain investigates every claim of such misconduct, and in cases where there is evidence of unlawful conduct by an employee or a contractor, we immediately act to rectify the situation and hold the individuals who are responsible accountable.”
Although Navarro’s lawyers contended that the statute of limitations had passed, the jury determined that the charges were brought within the allotted three years.
In January, Worden consented to testify against Navarro and entered a no contest plea to misdemeanour embezzlement by a public officer.
Navarro had his ex-girlfriend stay with him when she was recuperating from surgery while he was living at the station.
The question of whether Navarro concealed the hidden flat from anyone was raised by the fact that his aide also had a key to the room.
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Prosecutors claimed throughout the trial that Navarro and Worden planned to hide their activities by avoiding a paper trail and by keeping invoices below $3,000, which is the minimum amount required for additional approval.
“This is a case about abuse of power and abuse of authority. … Mr. Navarro abused his authority as rail operations director in multiple ways, multiple times, affecting multiple people,” Deputy District Attorney Joseph stated. “His abuse of power did not just affect him.”
“Turning a historic train station into your personal crash pad is 100% a conflict of interest,” Cannon stated. “That’s just common sense.”
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Constructed in 1894, Burlingame Station’s Mission Revival-style structure earned it a state landmark designation in 1971.
In 1978, the station in the Bay Area was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On June 11, Navarro, who has been residing in Pennsylvania, is expected to get his punishment.
A court could sentence the former executive to probation instead of the maximum penalty of four years in prison.
