Former Lodi Fire captain sentenced in embezzling case
STOCKTON — After more than a year of court proceedings, Lodi firefighters were finally able to get the closure they needed following the sentencing of Oscar Picazo on Friday morning at the San Joaquin Superior Court.
Picazo, a former Lodi fire captain and union treasurer who previously pleaded guilty to embezzling $300,000 from the union, was sentenced by Judge Ronald Northup to a total of four years with the last 32 months suspended for monitored supervision through the probation department. He will remain in prison for a total of 16 months, and once released from custody, he will be under monitored supervision. He will also have to pay a $300 restitution fine along with several other various court and probation fines and fees.
Firefighters had mixed emotions following the sentencing. While they finally got closure, some felt too much damage has already been done.
“I don’t think that there would’ve been enough (jail) time for us,” said Lodi Fire Capt. Trevor Lambert, who also serves as the union president. “We are relieved and happy to see him get punished in some way, but we think that he deserved more.”
Lodi firefighter and union board member Roger Varwig agreed.
“It’s going to take years for the Lodi Professional Firefighters to heal from the damage he created while he held the treasurer’s position,” he said. “I think every day we’re still healing from that open wound. I’m glad that they moved forward with some sort of action.”
Picazo’s attorney, Al Ellis, felt that Friday’s proceedings went as expected.
“This is what we expected to occur and obviously there were no surprises as far as what the court did or what transpired this morning,” Ellis said.
Ellis asked the judge for an extension so that Picazo could finish raising the funds to pay back the remaining $150,170.52 he owed to the union. Ellis said Picazo was working with family members to raise the funds and was in the middle of selling a house. He had expected escrow to close before his sentencing, but it did not. Ultimately, Northup decided to proceed with the sentencing and Picazo was taken into custody following the proceedings.
“My sensitivity in this case is to the victims and their desires to either be repaid or, in this case, it may be that they are not repaid that additional $150,000. But it sounds like to me that they are well aware of the issues that we just discussed. On that basis, I’m prepared to sentence him today,” Northup said.
When asked how Picazo would repay the remaining restitution to the union if he is behind bars, Ellis responded: “That’s a good question. That’s why we asked for some time to do that, but it’s obvious that the fire department wanted jail time more than money so that’s unfortunate, but that was their decision, not ours.”
Now that Picazo is in custody, Ellis said he is unsure if the money from the sale of the home will go towards the restitution.
“We just have to wait and see what happens,” Ellis said.
Several Lodi Firefighters showed up to the sentencing and at least four gave victim statements. Emotions ran high as several accusations were levied while they expressed their feelings of betrayal before the court.
“This man stole from us on numerous occasions for over seven years that we know of from the very people he called brother,” Lambert said. “The fire service is a brotherhood, and my brothers that I work with are some very high quality individuals. He is not one of them.”
Lambert asked the judge for a harsh sentence and referred to Picazo as a stain on the Lodi Fire Department and the fire service in general.
Retired Lodi Fire Battalion Chief and former union president Pete Iturraran also spoke during the proceedings.
“Oscar is a con man. A con man is worse than a thief,” Iturraran said. “A thief will come into your home in the middle of the night and steal your wallet and sneak out. A con man shakes your hand, gives you a hug while he reaches into your pocket and grabs your wallet. Oscar conned me.”
Lodi Fire engineer Grant Gibson told the court that the union raises funds for several charitable organizations, and that while Picazo was stealing from the union, he was also stealing from those organizations.
“We have come to the realization that more than $15,000 of charitable funds that should’ve been forwarded on to cancer research and treatment organizations was included in the money Mr. Picazo instead placed in his pocket,” Gibson said. “We have made or plan to make each of these charities whole to keep our integrity intact, but it is becoming a burden. We have not, and will never be made whole for what he has taken from us.”
In the aftermath of Picazo’s embezzlement, Gibson said the union is still dealing with the effects of delinquent bills and improper or absent paperwork that was never filed. They say the union has also been subject to threats and fines from the IRS for not filing its nonprofit tax returns and are in danger of being kicked out of the National Association of Firefighters for nonpayment of dues.
Lodi Fire Marshal and former union president and secretary Brad Doell was overwhelmed with emotions as he fought to maintain his composure during his statement. He informed the court that he and Picazo had been very close friends for at least two decades, owned a business together in 2002 and their families spent a lot of time together.
“I can’t began to explain to the court the difficulty of explaining to my family what he had done. To say we felt betrayed was an understatement. Watching my three sons’ reaction to the news was painful. Oscar was someone they loved and respected. What exacerbates the disappointment was that he was perpetrating these crimes against his brothers, who he spent a considerable amount of time with in the fire stations.”
Doell said Picazo’s choices brought embarrassment to the city, the fire department and the union.
Ellis argued that Picazo was remorseful for his actions, and the accusations that he wasn’t were simply untrue.