- Joseph Navarro, 66, and Seth Worden, 61, allegedly defrauded taxpayers
- Former Caltrain employee and contractor allegedly built apartments at two train stations
- Authorities say Navarro’s $42,000 apartment was at the Burlingame Station, and Worden’s $8,000 stash house was at the Millbrae Station.
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A former employee of Caltrain, a public transportation system that connects Silicon Valley to San Francisco, and a former contractor allegedly looted public funds to build themselves two small apartments inside two train stations.
San Mateo County prosecutors charged Joseph Vincent Navarro, former deputy director of Caltrain, and Seth Andrew Worden, former employee of TransAmerica Services Inc., with felony misappropriation of public funds.
Worden, 61, was arraigned Wednesday and released on his own recognizance, court records show.
Navarro, 66, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday, when Worden will appear in court again, according to Mercury news.
Prosecutors said that between 2019 and 2020, Navarro allegedly conspired with Worden and approved $42,000 in construction expenses to transform an office into a clandestine apartment inside Caltrain’s Burlingame train station, designated as a historic landmark in California.
Pictured: Caltrain train station in Burlingame, where Navarro allegedly built an apartment out of an office using approximately $42,000
Pictured: Millbrae Station, where Worden allegedly spent $8,000 on his own private platform.
The criminal complaint alleged that Worden used $8,000 in taxpayer funds to build a similar platform himself inside the Millbrae train station.
It’s unclear what Worden’s alleged home looked like, but Navarro is accused of spending a lot of money on a kitchen, shower, plumbing and security cameras in his apartment.
Navarro and Worden allegedly made sure no bill exceeded $3,000, avoiding further authorization from Caltrain and TransAmerica Services Inc., the firm that employed Worden, prosecutors said.
By keeping their expenses below the $3,000 threshold, Navarro and Worden were able to evade scrutiny.
Caltrain employees reportedly first discovered the converted space at the Millbrae station in 2020.
However, Navarro’s alleged location in Burlingame evaded detection until Caltrain received an anonymous tip in 2022.
Navarro was fired after being confronted with the information and reportedly admitted to having “occasionally used the station as his residence,” prosecutors said. Caltrain then alerted the district attorney’s office about the possibility of criminal charges.
Caltrain CEO Michelle Bouchard sharply criticized her former employee and contractor in a statement.
“Misusing public funds for private use is a violation of the law, Caltrain policy and the public trust,” Bouchard said.
It continued: “Caltrain investigates each claim of such misconduct and, in cases where there is evidence of unlawful conduct by an employee or contractor, we act immediately to rectify the situation and hold those responsible accountable.”