Ex-City Clerk Pleads No Contest to Charges

GLENDALE — A former city of Glendale clerk pleaded no contest Friday to charges she embezzled $54,000 from the city over three years.

As part of her plea agreement, Rachel Lynn Hall, 29, was required to make full restitution to the city, spend 180 days under electronic surveillance in her home, perform 500 hours of community service and serve five years’ probation.

Hall, who was accused of stealing the money while collecting city license fees between May 1993 and August 1996, apparently spent “every dime” on clothes, weekend trips, health spas and cosmetic products, among other personal items, according to investigators. Prosecutors alleged she took a total of $107,000.

The embezzlement sparked a massive investigation into municipal financial procedures, which led the city to change its payment and record-keeping practices and prompted consideration of hiring a full-time auditor, said Christina Sansone, an assistant city attorney who appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pasadena to testify on behalf of the city’s residents and its government.

The city spent about $33,000 investigating Hall and examining procedures at different agencies where she once worked, Sansone said.

Superior Court Judge Joseph De Vanon, citing Hall’s cooperation with investigators and her lack of a criminal record, did not impose prison time on the Burbank resident, who worked seven years for the city of Glendale. She could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison, De Vanon said.

Hall’s attorney said he was pleased with the sentence, but dismissed the city’s claims that his client stole an additional $53,000, as was alleged by prosecutors.

“Anything above the $54,000 is not attributable to Rachel Hall,” said Ira Salzman. “The city should look elsewhere. The city has had a long problem with finances.”

The reverberations from Hall’s embezzlement case still echo in City Hall, where council members this week decided not to hire an auditor, at least until next year when the city’s new manager is expected to be on board. The auditor position has been a council subject for more than a year.

“She took advantage of an overburdened system,” Sansone said, explaining how tens of thousands of dollars could disappear from city accounts over three years with no one noticing. “There were weaknesses. But changes have been made.”

Whether those changes will prevent further theft is still the subject of broad disagreement among council members.

“Steps have been taken, but the question is open if these things could recur,” said Councilwoman Eileen Givens, who voted in favor of creating the auditor position during Tuesday’s council meeting.

The auditor measure failed on a 3-2 vote, with council members promising to take it up again after a new city manager is hired. Two council members said they had voted against the measure pending more time to review the issue.