employees built secret apartments inside two unused Bay area public train stations and lived there (arrested)

For $42,000, Navarro allegedly installed a kitchenette, shower, plumbing and security cameras, prosecutors said. The pair are accused of trying to fly below the radar by making sure none of the invoices surpassed $3,000, which would have triggered further authorization from Caltrain and TransAmerica Services Inc., the firm that employed Worden.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/03/30/crime-or-peak-urbanism-yimbys-cant-help-but-applaud-the-caltrain-officials-who-built-secret-apartments-inside-stations/

Former Caltrain manager charged after allegedly building secret apartments inside train stations
According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, a former Caltrain manager and a contractor allegedly used $50,000 in taxpayer money to build secret apartments inside two stations.

A former Caltrain manager and a contractor are accused of using thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to build their own personal apartments inside two stations.

The first apartment was built in 2019 inside the historic Burlingame Caltrain Station. While the other was built in Millbrae.

Neither facility is being used by the public, which is how they went unnoticed for so long. It's a crime that baffles San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

A former Caltrain manager and a contractor are accused of using thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to build their own personal apartments inside two stations.

The first apartment was built in 2019 inside the historic Burlingame Caltrain Station. While the other was built in Millbrae.

Neither facility is being used by the public, which is how they went unnoticed for so long. It's a crime that baffles San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.


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Worden's attorney sent NBC Bay Area the following statement on Friday:

"I can tell you that my client is very remorseful for his role. I can further tell you that my initial sense of the case suggests that his participation would not suggest a felony prosecution appropriate. Again, I anticipate receiving the discovery in the coming days, and can glean a better context for his role in the case."

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/former-caltrain-manager-secret-apartments-bay-area-train-stations/3496068/#:~:text=Emma%20Goss%20reports.-,A%20former%20Caltrain%20manager%20and%20a%20contractor%20are%20accused%20of,other%20was%20built%20in%20Millbrae.

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Jose Martinez reports on an alleged scheme by two former Caltrain workers to misuse funds in order to build private residences at train stations.

Navarro and Worden allegedly ensured that no invoice surpassed $3,000, averting further authorization from Caltrain and TransAmerica Services Inc., the firm that employed Worden, prosecutors said.

Caltrain employees first discovered the converted space at the Millbrae station in 2020, authorities said. But the transit agency was unaware of Navarro’s place in Burlingame until getting an anonymous tip in 2022, they said.

"The misuse of public funds for private use is a violation of the law, Caltrain policy and the public’s trust," Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said in a statement. "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."

Navarro was fired after being confronted with the tip, and reportedly admitted to "occasionally using the station as his residence," prosecutors said. Caltrain then alerted the district attorney’s office about the potential for criminal charges.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/fmr-caltrain-employees-accused-of-embezzlement