Former youth league official charged with grand theft
By Moryt Milo
Parents and coaches of the Campbell Saratoga Youth Football League (CSYF) felt like a team hit with the worst refereeing call of their life when they discovered in the summer of 2001 that some $30,000 was missing from the CSYF checking account and cash funds during the 2000-01 football season.
Former CSYF president Kimberly Marshall, 32, was later arrested in connection with the missing funds. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office charged Marshall with grand theft by an employee. She was arraigned Dec. 6, 2001. She is out on a $20,000 bail. Marshall appeared in court April 29 to enter a plea which was postponed to May 13.
Marshall apparently made no effort to hide her transactions, writing checks for car repayments, tires, tanning spas, toe rings, groceries, and other personal items directly out of the league's checking account, Campbell resident and former CSYF president Steven Driggs said.
"She stole money not because she and [her husband] Leonard were in hard times and could not make ends meet, but to provide her with a lifestyle she thought she deserved," Driggs wrote in a letter filed with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
A copy of the letter was forwarded to The Campbell Reporter.
Her husband, Leonard Marshall, is not a subject in the DA's investigation.
The Campbell Reporter tried several times to contact Kimberly Marshall at her residence and place of work, as well as cellular phone, but phone calls were not returned by press time.
Berny Saucedo, a Santa Clara County Public Defender, who's representing Marshall, would not reveal how his client will plead to the crime, but said he is in negotiations with the DA's office. "She's just a person struggling to make ends meet," Saucedo said. "She wants to make sure the league continues because her children play in the league."
Saucedo confirmed earlier reports by the DA's office that Marshall would put between $7,000 and $8,000 into a trust account before entering a plea May 13.
Many CSYF families and coaches were upset by the delay in charging Marshall with the crime, and were concerned that the district attorney would only ask for restitution--repayment of the money stolen--but no jail time.
"You can't get a more clear-cut case of theft," Driggs said. "It's so blatant; I think that's why everyone is up in arms about it."
However, Santa Clara Deputy District Attorney Erin West said, "The way we see this case is, [Marshall] has stolen from an organization she had an opportunity to be president of, and she will be prosecuted for the criminal actions she committed. We won't be dismissing the charge if she pays back the money."
Asked if Marshall could do jail time, West said, "Absolutely."
The current CSYF board of directors issued a statement through its president, Stephanie Larsen, that addressed league concerns and said, "We believe that anyone that steals, especially from a program designed to teach children fair play, ethical behavior and sportsmanship, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. No matter how small or large the account."
The missing funds may total close to $35,000 and represent a whole year's worth of league income, Driggs said. It has the potential to decimate the CSYF league.
Joe Martinez, a volunteer coach since 1998, rents a room from the Marshalls. He said, "I became suspicious last year when I kept trying to order equipment and Kim kept pushing me back, saying, 'Hold off on that. ' "
CSYF critics also said San Jose Police Activities League (PAL) concerns about its image caused the league to keep the incident quiet for most of last year's season.
CSYF members have been upset about the way in which PAL has handled the incident. CSYF is an affiliate of PAL, a nonprofit organization that supports 11 leagues from Campbell to Stockton. Each league operates independently, with its own board of directors who report to the PAL board of directors.
When Marshall's actions became known, the PAL board of directors was concerned about tarnishing its image, and asked CSYF parents and coaches to keep what had happened "as low-profile as possible," said Driggs, who had attended all the PAL board meetings as league president.
"I don't understand their position," he added. "I know [these incidents] have happened in the Milpitas, Stockton and Palo Alto leagues, where people, over the past year and a half, step in [to positions of authority], take money and leave. If PAL can prove it, the people return the money; if PAL can't prove it, it's the end of the story."
But it was Marshall's husband, the league's athletic director, who began receiving phone calls from vendors about checks bouncing and reported it to Driggs.
He also told Driggs he was concerned about the fact that no money was turned in after the last two home games of the season, which took place in October of 2000. League coordinators expected to receive funds from ticket and snack shack sells, but no monies were received.
Troubled by what he heard, Driggs asked his wife, Lori, to check the league's post office box, and she discovered that no one had picked up the mail in six months.
"There must have been 30 bank statements containing cancelled and bounced checks stuffed into the box," he said.
After a preliminary review, Driggs and PAL Commissioner Neal Rockwell confronted Marshall at her home in September 2001.
Rockwell, would not comment on the issue when contacted by The Campbell Reporter because of the pending trial against Marshall, but did say, "When I realized what we had, I advised the [CSYF] board what to do and realized it was necessary to turn the information over to an investigator."
Driggs argues, however, that PAL was just going through the motions.
"I could have pulled any San Jose officer off the streets and filed a report," he said. "[PAL's] actions were very neutral."
Parents and coaches like Brian Christopher agree. "The league didn't just try to shelter the children, [it] tried to keep it from everyone. But it blew up when everyone found out about the dollar amounts. We couldn't even get a copy of the league photo because we had no funds," Christopher said.
"The decision to stay quiet cost us," Martinez added, "and put us in a bind."
Marshall did not deny the charges, and when the two men asked her how much she took, she admitted to taking between $8,000 and $9,000, Driggs said.
"When you write a check for $300 to [purchase] toe rings from the league account and sign it, it's tough to deny that kind of stuff," he said.
After confronting Kimberly Marshall, Driggs began combing through all the financial records, and when he discovered exactly where the money had gone, he "hit the roof." He also discovered it was a lot more than Marshall had claimed.
It had taken Driggs, who served as CSYF president from 1996 to 1999, more than two years to rebuild the league finances.
When he took over, the league had $800 in the bank and owed $2,000 to various vendors. The league was floundering and in shambles from a similar but smaller incident of missing funds. When he turned the league presidency over to Marshall, the CSYF was solvent, with more than $30,000 in the bank, new equipment, and vendors no longer demanding payment upfront, he said.
"We had just started seeing the rewards of our efforts," Driggs said, "and [Kim] knowingly proceeded to financially ruin the league."
For the Driggses, Marshall's actions were like a two-edged sword. The families had been personal friends. They had spent vacations and weekends together, and Driggs trusted her when he handed her the league presidency.
What bothers Driggs, the coaches and families in the league the most was her sense of arrogance, they said.
"She thought no one was going to say anything," Driggs said. "She just never thought she was going to get caught."
Campbell parent Bonnie Grigsby, who had two daughters, ages 7 and 11, on the cheerleading team and carpooled Marshall's daughters, said, "She didn't just hurt the league, and it wasn't just the money issue-she stole from children and flaunted it. That's what galls me the most."
But Grigsby also feels compassion for Marshall's children and husband. When everyone was told what had happened, "her husband had the [guts] to stand up and say it was her, not [him], and we still have to work together to do what we can to keep this league [intact]," Grigsby said.
The Marshalls are now in the process of getting a divorce. Leonard Marshall told The Campbell Reporter that while he was not comfortable discussing the incident, "whatever Steve and the other people [said] I'm sure is true."
It disturbs the current league parents and coaches that PAL seemingly does nothing to stop the problem from recurring. After Driggs' disclosure of the Marshall incident at a PAL board meeting, various league presidents asked why the organization doesn't have a system in place with the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office to prosecute individuals caught stealing from youth leagues.
Christopher, Martinez and several other coaches said they felt betrayed by the system. During the season, coaches spend between 40 and 45 hours a week as volunteers because they love the sport of football and enjoy working with kids, Martinez said.
With the outcome of the case still pending and the league's status shaky, members hope parents will return for another season.
"It is a make-or-break year depending on sign-ups," Martinez said.
Everyone affected is closely watching how the district attorney handles the case.
Campbell, California
