STOCKTON (CN) - Citing a string of white-collar accusations, investigators on Sunday arrested beleaguered former Stockton, California, Mayor Anthony Silva.
According to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, Silva is wanted for financial crimes including embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and grand theft. Investigators searched the former mayor’s home Thursday as well as a nonprofit he helps run.
Silva, who was arrested at San Francisco International Airport upon returning from a vacation in Colombia, had his bail set at $1 million by a judge on Thursday.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Silva said, “Apparently Stockton can manage without me for a while so I decided to go explore the world. ‘I am leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again.’”
His attorney asked the public not to jump to any conclusions about Silva's guilt or innocence.
"I'm very skeptical,” Silva attorney Allen Sawyer told Fox40 in Sacramento, referencing the new charges. “I'm going to withhold judgment and I ask the public to do the same. He's been proven right once; let's see what’s going to happen here.”
The arrest warrant comes seven months after Silva was arrested while still mayor in Amador County on felony eavesdropping counts. Investigators accused Silva of filming a juvenile strip poker game at the summer camp he runs. The felony charges were later dropped to misdemeanors.
The arrest came during his reelection bid, which he eventually lost to 26-year-old Michael Tubbs.
Silva’s attorneys said the new warrant is unrelated to his August arrest.
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