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Former Compton official pleads guilty to theft of $3.7 million

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Compton’s former deputy treasurer and his wife have pleaded guilty to a federal charge of stealing more than $3.7 million in city funds.

Salvador Galvan, 47, of La Mirada, admitted one federal count of theft from an organization receiving federal funds. His wife, Rosa Maria Galvan, pleaded guilty to the same charge.

The felony charge carries a possible maximum prison sentence of 10 years, but prosecutors agreed to recommend a term of no more than three years and 10 months, according to a plea deal, which also outlines agreed-upon

restitution of $3.72 million.

As part of the agreement, Rosa Galvan agreed to hand over the keys to a 2013 Nissan Frontier and a 2012 Honda Pilot to the government.

Rosa Galvan received “hundreds of thousands of dollars in either cash” or money orders from her husband, according to her plea deal. She used some of the ill-gotten gains to pay $14,000 in cash for the Honda on Oct. 14, 2015, at an Irvine dealer.

Court documents show her making cash deposits into her account of $211,044 from February 2012 through August of last year.

Both are scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 3 by U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton in Santa Ana.

According to the charging document, Compton’s then-deputy city treasurer skimmed cash from City Hall over a six-year period, taking anywhere from $200 to $8,000 a day. The losses were small enough that they didn’t trigger alarm, but fellow employees said they wondered how Galvan could afford a new Audi and other expenses on a $60,000 salary, according to court papers.

Galvan, who worked in the Compton Treasurer’s Office for more than 20 years, was responsible for tallying the cash received by the city as payment for parking tickets, business licenses and other fees. After the cash was counted, Galvan prepared the money for deposit into a city bank account, according to court documents.

The FBI interviewed Galvan’s supervisor, who “reflected about Galvan’s time in the office, his unexplained affluence and his generosity,” according to an affidavit.

The supervisor told investigators that Galvan went from driving an “old Toyota” to increasingly luxurious vehicles, including the black Audi sedan.

The affidavit also states that Galvan told his supervisor that he purchased a residence in La Mirada and demolished the house so he could rebuild it.

Galvan was arrested late last year.

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