Former Lodi firefighter accused of embezzlement makes court appearance
Oscar Picazo to be arraigned in January at Stockton court
Oscar Picazo, a former Lodi firefighter accused of embezzling $297,000 from the Lodi Professional Firefighters Union, waived his right to a preliminary examination and was released on his own recognizance during a hearing on Thursday morning at the Lodi branch of the San Joaquin Superior Court.
The case will continue on Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m. in department 35 at the San Joaquin Superior Court’s Stockton branch. According to Deputy District Attorney Stephen Taylor, Picazo will be arraigned in the trial court and the court will eventually set a trial date.
“Obviously, today was just the arraignment date. Our concern was making sure that Mr. Picazo remained on his own recognizance which means that he didn’t have to post bail,” Picazo’s attorney Al Ellis said. “What we’re going to do is we’re going to come back to court the first of the year, and we’ll be talking to the judge to see if the case could be resolved.”
Picazo is facing charges of felony grand theft by embezzlement over $950, with various enhancements tied to the amount of money, including taking, damaging or destroying property over $200,000 and theft of more than $100,000.
Taylor said if Picazo is found guilty of both enhancements, it could result in an extra two years of jail time and Picazo would not qualify for probation.
Judge David P. Warner informed Picazo that by waiving his right to a preliminary hearing, he was waiving his right to confront and cross examine witnesses against him and present a defense in his case prior to trial. He also would not be entitled to a preliminary hearing in the future.
Dozens of Lodi Firefighters wearing Lodi Professional Firefighters T-shirts and hats packed the courtroom to witness the case against Picazo, a former fire captain and union treasurer.
“We just thought that being that it affects a lot of our members it was a good idea for all of us to be out here. We all have a stake in what happens in the case and we all want to see the process played out,” Lodi Professional Firefighters Union President Justin Porter said.
Taylor said these type of cases are very common in the area.
“We’re getting $100,000 to $700,000 cases it seems every month. I’ve been here 35 years, I’ve never seen a wave of embezzlements before.”
Taylor said most victims are generally sole proprietorships, partnerships and small familyowned businesses that have not been educated on how to handle money, so they turn their finances over to somebody they’ve hired.
Taylor said making sure the union gets its money back is the priority in this case, because the union is not insured.
“These victims have no significant insurance for this loss. We really want that money back, and then we’ll see what the court will do,” Taylor said. “We’d love to see the money returned then we can talk about what’s the right thing to do. If there is no money, and he’s convicted, he’s going to state prison, period.”
Of the missing money, $73,000 has been paid back, but more than $200,000 remains unaccounted for.