Marin school founder arraigned in alleged $1M theft Kathleen Mecca, the former head of Mount Tamalpais School in Mill Valley, was arrested in Florida on April 4, 2017, on a Marin County warrant alleging embezzlement. (Indian River County Sheriff’s Office) ByGary Klien, Marin Independent Journal POSTED:05/03/17, 5:53 PM PDT|UPDATED: 8 HRS AGO 8 COMMENTS A former Mill Valley schoolmaster accused of embezzling more than $1 million from the school pleaded not guilty Wednesday in her first court appearance since her arrest in Florida last month. Kathleen Marie Mecca, the retired head of Mount Tamalpais School, was arraigned before Judge James Chou, who set her bail amount at $150,000. The judge allowed her bail amount from Florida to be transferred to the Marin case, and Mecca, 70, was released pending further hearings. She must surrender her passport to the Marin County District Attorney’s Office by May 17. Mecca, reached by email, declined to comment Wednesday. Her defense attorney, Anthony Brass, could not be reached for comment. Mecca founded the school in 1976 and ran it until her retirement in 2015. A financial audit ordered by the school determined that she had diverted $1,054,042.90 in school funds to a bank account the trustees were unaware of, according to court documents. The money came from school applications, tuition and donations, a prosecution affidavit said. The statements for the account were mailed to a post office box in the Tiburon area, where Mecca lived. Under a settlement with school trustees, Mecca agreed to pay back about $650,000. Much of the money came from her share in a Hawaii residence she owned with her former husband, who has not been charged. Some parents pushed authorities for a criminal investigation, and the Marin County District Attorney’s Office opened one. When a prosecution investigator interviewed Mecca, she acknowledged setting up the account without the board’s knowledge, but she initially denied using the funds for personal expenses, according to the affidavit. But then she “confirmed she had paid personal expenses out of the account because she erroneously believed the personal expenses were balanced out by other expenses she was making on the school’s behalf,” the affidavit said. The prosecution charged Mecca with felony embezzlement, alleging that the crimes took place from approximately June 2008 to August 2015. Mecca was arrested on April 4 at her home Vero Beach, Florida, and released on bail. She could face a jail sentence of up to five years if convicted. The preliminary examination of the evidence, the proceeding at which the judge determines if there is sufficient evidence to justify a trial, is scheduled for Sept. 12. The Mount Tamalpais School has about 200 K-8 students and annual tuition of nearly $30,000. Sandra Swanson, a Tiburon resident whose children graduated from the school, said the case is a “tragedy” and a “witch hunt.” “Dr. Mecca was an icon of honesty, a brilliant administrator and teacher,” Swanson said. “She taught the kindergarten herself at MTS and MTS children came home daily after their kindergarten days brimming with happiness and enthusiasm for learning. “Dr. Mecca shepherded all of her MTS children through grammar school, into secondary school and beyond, and remained connected well into adulthood. With no children of her own, her MTS students were family. She was family.”
Former Marin schoolmaster pleads guilty in $1.1M embezzlement case http://www.marinij.com/general-news...y-in-11m-embezzlement-case?source=most_viewed