Ex-Caltrain workers allegedly built personal residences in stations with public funds
SAN MATEO COUNTY – A former Caltrain executive and a station manager have been charged in an alleged scheme using public funds to convert parts of two stations into personal residences, prosecutors said.
According to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe's office, 66-year-old Joseph Vincent Navarro and 61-year-old Seth Andrew Worden are accused of felony misappropriation of public funds.
Navarro had previously served as Caltrain's deputy director of operations. Worden was a station manager that was employed by TASI, which the agency has a contract with to provide rail services.
Prosecutors allege that in 2019 and 2020, the pair conspired to convert a portion of the historic Burlingame station into a residence for Navarro.
"Worden hired contractors at Navarro's direction to remodel a section of the station that had been previously used as office space to add, among other upgrades, a kitchen, shower, heating, plumbing and security cameras," the DA's office said in a statement.
To avoid detection, prosecutors said the pair kept invoices below $3,000.
Worden allegedly also used public funds to remodel a portion of the Millbrae station into a residence for himself. He was fired in 2020 after Caltrain employees discovered the living space.
Navarro's residence at the Burlingame station was not discovered by Caltrain until 2022, after the agency received an anonymous tip. Caltrain terminated Navarro after he admitted to occasionally using the station as his home.
"Do not know who called in to say, 'Hey, there's somebody living in the Burlingame train station in there,'" Wagstaffe told CBS News Bay Area. "So the managers checked it out and indeed that was the case, that they had done it, were living there and most significantly had spent taxpayer dollars."
Caltrain executive director Michelle Bouchard said in a statement to CBS News Bay Area, "The misuse of public funds for private use is a violation of the law, Caltrain policy and the public's trust. Caltrain investigates every claim of such misconduct, and in cases where there is evidence of unlawful conduct by an employee or a contractor, we immediately act to rectify the situation and hold the individuals who are responsible accountable."
"We appreciate the District Attorney's diligent work in this investigation, and we will continue to provide any additional information or support needed to further the District Attorney's efforts," Bouchard went on to say.
Prosecutors said Worden was arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is out of custody.
According to court records, Navarro is scheduled to be arraigned in April.