Lea este articulo en español aqui.
Former San Benito County Free Library supervising librarian Erin Baxter was charged with three felony counts involving an alleged embezzlement scheme, including forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime with public funds. She posted $20,000 in bail.
Erin Baxter during a Coalition for a New Library meeting on July 13, 2019. Photo by Heather Graham.According to court documents, Baxter allegedly took between $100,000 and $500,000 between July 2022 and April 2023.
San Benito County District Attorney Joel Buckingham said his office obtained a warrant for her arrest on May 21. She surrendered and posted bail two days later.
He said no other person has been charged in connection with the case but that his office is still involved in parts of the investigation that are ongoing to determine if “additional individuals should be charged.”
“It’s of utmost importance to me that taxpayers understand how important this case is to the District Attorney’s Office and ensure we hold all individuals accountable who were responsible for the loss of these funds,” Buckingham said.
San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor previously told BenitoLink he asked the FBI to become involved with the investigation because his office lacked “the expertise in forensic accounting.”
Taylor said the alleged suspect or suspects opened up a number of accounts that allowed them to order merchandise. No actual cash had been taken, he said, and an internal audit established that none of the library’s supply of Chromebooks, which had been purchased through a $11.8 million federal grant from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, were involved.
While merchandise, including camping equipment and electronics, was found at the home of the suspect or suspects, Taylor said he did not know if they planned to resell the goods.
Around the time the investigation began, the then-librarian Nora Conte retired. It is unclear if her retirement had anything to do with the investigation. BenitoLink also confirmed that other staff members resigned, but the county did not disclose how many. Baxter was among the staff that resigned. She is scheduled to appear in the San Benito County Superior Court on July 10.
San Benito County Public Information Officer Rosemerry Dere told BenitoLink Baxter had been a county employee since January 2017.
Since Conte’s retirement, Manny Gonzalez has been serving as the interim librarian.
In March, the county was set to consider hiring a new librarian but the item was removed from the San Benito County Board of Supervisors’ agenda. Dere said that the county decided to go in a different direction.
She said the county is currently going through a thorough background check process for one candidate for the position. Dere said there is no timeline for when the Board of Supervisors will consider this candidate.
“We’re actively trying to wrap it up as quickly as we can,” Dere said.
In April, the Board of Supervisors moved in a 4-1 vote to reduce the number of years of experience they would require from applicants because the county “experienced multiple unsuccessful recruitments,” according to the staff report.
Supervisor Bea Gonzales cast the “no” vote.
“Making this change will facilitate internal training opportunities and the opportunity to hire and promote from within the county,” the staff report states. “These revisions allow current staff promotional opportunities throughout several levels within the library structure as there are staff that currently possesses sufficient experience and capabilities to effectively fulfill the role of County Librarian.”
BenitoLink related articles:
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.
