Embattled former community college chancellor Ron Galatolo was found guilty of four counts of perjury and four counts of willfully filing false tax returns, as well as not guilty of one count of perjury, though a jury is still weighing the other 18 charges against him.
Those other charges against Galatolo, which allege misuse of public funds and embezzlement during his time as chancellor, have not yet been decided, the jury foreman said on Jan. 20. The jury has been deliberating on those charges for several days and is still split, with 11-1 votes on some of the charges and 5-7 on the others.
The decided guilty charges were related to perjury with the DMV, including two allegations of evading registration fees when purchasing expensive cars, the District Attorney’s Office said previously, as well as perjury on forms to disclose conflict of interests. Tax-evasion charges related to a Maui rental property, as one example.
Galatolo’s lawyer, Chuck Smith, said that he was hopeful the guilty charges will be made misdemeanors upon the time of sentencing.
“You're never happy sure to have a client convicted of anything, sure, but the personal tax and DMV things are not that significant,” he said. "Arguably, the judge can make them misdemeanors at the time of sentencing. I think there's, all told, less than $10,000 of unpaid fees or taxes, and none of it is related to his position as a chancellor.”
After a verdict was read on the nine charges, the jury had further questions. Those questions will be answered at 8 a.m. Wednesday, at which point it will resume deliberations.
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