Full Notification

The City of San Leandro has been made aware of the conclusion to the criminal case involving Robert Sanchez. The former San Leandro Police Officer was charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of funds and was prosecuted by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.  He pled no contest to felony grand theft in June in a negotiated disposition. Yesterday he was sentenced to two years of felony probation, 240 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a maximum of $46,815.88 in restitution stemming from grand theft from the police department.

The restitution amount covers the actual loss of approximately $16,000 that resulted from Mr. Sanchez’s manipulation of the payroll systems for personal gain.  The remaining amount covers the cost of an independent forensic audit and legal fees incurred by the City Attorney.

This crime was uncovered last year by members of the San Leandro Police Department, who immediately referred the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for investigation.  Mr. Sanchez has since retired.

Mr. Sanchez is no longer with the San Leandro Police Department, and the city has instituted new safeguards, including bi-weekly audits of payroll conducted by the City’s Finance Department, to ensure an incident such as this never happens again.

“This was clearly a violation of the public trust,” said Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter, “but it is important to remember that it was our own women and men of the San Leandro Police Department that stopped this violation and made possible the justice we see today.  I am confident the proper steps have been taken to protect our hard-earned taxpayer dollars from a repeat of what was a painful and sad event.”