Consultant to face fraud trial

However, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office alleges that Collier submitted phony invoices in order to be reimbursed for her political work on the Measure I campaign.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Belmont Mayor David Warden, who served on the Measure I campaign committee, testified that the campaign was more than $15,000 in debt - primarily to Collier - when the measure failed. And while Warden felt "some ethical obligation" to see Collier paid, he said it was unclear whether anyone was liable legally to pay the debt, since there was no formal agreement between the committee and Collier.

San Carlos Councilman Mike King, also on the campaign committee, seemed "overly concerned" and "very emotional" about Collier getting paid, Warden testified.

"On several occasions Mr. King approached me and said 'We have to pay Peg,'" Warden testified. "He was obviously very concerned that this debt be made right.''

Collier has said that King, then the mayor of San Carlos, advised her to claim the expenses, providing names of affected personnel to list on the invoices.

King testified Tuesday that he faxed Collier a "template" invoice demonstrating how to bill the consulting work. Collier then filled in the hours worked and billed the authority $185 per hour.

"I believed at that time that she had done work," King testified. King has not been charged with a crime in the case.

The District Attorney's Office was alerted to the situation by the city of Belmont, which pays the claims for the joint powers agency that serves the cities of Belmont and San Carlos.

Former Belmont City Manager Jere Kersnar said the invoices caught his attention when they landed in his in box in March and April of 2004.

"I had not myself, nor was I aware that anyone else had authorized it [the work] to be done," he said. Nor was Kersnar aware of any outplacement services performed for the firefighters, he testified. "I did not believe there was adequate support for the invoices.''

Mark Scheffler, an inspector for the District Attorney's Office, spoke with the six firefighters that Collier claimed to help. All said Collier offered them no help and that they obtained jobs either on their own or through the firefighters' union. The three demoted captains Collier listed used no outplacements services, Scheffler said.

During an interview in the fall of 2004, Collier admitted that she did not offer the outplacement consulting, Scheffler said. "She said she didn't do the work as described on the invoices," the investigator testified. However, Collier claimed that she did do "plenty of other work," connected to the Measure I campaign.