Red Words

[BYNAME]By Andrew Edwards
[BYSOURCE]Staff Writer
[BODY]REDLANDS — Records filed in San Bernardino Superior Court allege that City Treasurer Mike Reynolds, cq illegally transferred $37,880.96 in public money to cover a shortage in the city’s petty cash fund.
Reynolds, 58, has served as Redlands’ elected City Treasurer since 1980 and is running unopposed for the Nov. 6 election. He was arrested on Oct. 24 and has also been charged with misappropriation of public funds, keeping a false record and falsifying documents.
Reynolds has denied any wrongdoing through his attorney, Patrick Milligan. cq
Milligan could not be reached for comment late Tuesday in regard to court filings but said in an interview the previous day that Reynolds plans on pleading innocent to the charges. Reynolds’ arraignment is set for Dec. 5.
Reynolds did not return phone calls placed to his city cell phone Tuesday.
Deputy District Attorney John Goritz cq declined to make specific comments on any evidence against Reynolds, who was arrested after being investigated by the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit.
Goritz did clarify that Reynolds has not been charged with actually stealing money from the city’s petty cash fund but is alleged to have used public funds for personal reasons. did not elaborate
The investigation is ongoing, Goritz said.
In a filing that shows reasons to justify Reynolds’ arrest, Public Integrity Unit investigator Morey E. Weiss cq wrote that assistant city treasurer Debbie Myers cq realized in August that the city’s petty cash supplies were short by more than $30,000.
Myers reportedly told Weiss that around Sept. 12, Reynolds told her a deposit had been made to the general fund that covered the exact amount of the shortage in the petty cash fund.
Investtigators later learned that a check from the “City of Redlands Treasurer’s Trust Account” had been signed by Reynolds and made out for $37,880.96.
A search warrant was served at the Treasurer’s Office on Oct. 17. At the time, investigators discovered a form that showed that amount as the shortage in the city’s petty cash fund.
Near Reynolds’ desk, investigators also found a torn up copy of the same type of form that was filled out as to show no shortage in the same fund.
Weiss’ filing shows that when he interviewed Reynolds, the Treasurer said the trust account was used for payments that had been delivered to his office but not yet deposited into city accounts.
When Reynolds was asked how he would respond if told the petty cash fund was short by more than $30,000 shortage, he reportedly said he had never been informed of such a problem.
He later said money was transferred to the general fund was related to unspecified transactions but not the petty cash fund. Reynolds also told Weiss he had not prepared any document to show why the transfer was made, but the transfer would help his office “memorialize” how much money was missing.
Reynolds was reportedly unable to explain why he made the transfer and told Weiss that “maybe I didn’t think this completely through.”
He also told Weiss he was preparing to cover the missing dollars with his own money and did not want the city to lose any funds.
Weiss wrote that Reynolds told him he did a “piss poor job” in watching over funds placed in his care and was concerned about his reputation.
In a telephone interview Monday, Milligan said Reynolds, as City Treasurer has the power to determine how best to place money in Redlands’ various funds.
Reynolds’ attorney also said an audit would be performed on behalf of his client to find out why money was missing.
Milligan said the current problem is the result of a mistake.
“It’s either an accounting error or a physical error,” he said.
[TAG1]andrew.edwards@sbsun.com