NO PRISON, NO DEMOTION — Arlie Ricasa and attorney Allen Bloom arrive for Ricasa’s sentencing. He argued for leniency and said the college had “demoted” her. College officials deny Ricasa has been demoted.
Photo by Jaime Pronoble
Southwestern College EOPS Director Arlie Ricasa officially avoided a prison term this week when Judge Ana España sentenced her to 33 months of probation, a $4,589 fine and 80 hours of community service. Ricasa originally faced 33 criminal charges, including 16 felonies in the South Bay Corruption Case.
Ricasa’s attorney, Allen Bloom, told the judge in open court that SWC Interim Vice President of Human Resources Lynn Solomita wrote a letter addressing the impact the case has had on Ricasa.
“This plea has put her position in jeopardy,” he said to the judge. “She has suffered the loss, a demotion from one position. She has not been fired, she has been demoted from an administrative spot to a staff position. That’s a loss of $16,000 a year.”
After the hearing Bloom was asked by a reporter for a copy of the letter. He walked away while he recanted that Ricasa had been demoted as EOPS director. He then said Solomita wrote a letter confirming that Ricasa had been demoted from another position.
Solomita denied writing any such letter.
“I did not send Mr. Bloom or the court a letter stating Ms. Ricasa had been demoted,” Solomita wrote in an e-mail to The Sun. “There is no such letter. Ms. Ricasa is the director of EOPS and has not been demoted.”
Ricasa’s San Diego County Superior Court file did not have a copy of a letter from Solomita. It had several letters from family members and supporters requesting leniency.
Bloom did not return phone calls seeking follow-up about the letter he cited in court.
In her plea, Ricasa admitted to taking $2,099 in illegal gifts, although the District Attorney’s Affidavit for Search Warrant stated Ricasa had taken in excess of $36,000. Deputy District Attorney Leon Schorr said Ricasa was not entitled to receive the large gifts she received from vendors, which exceeded the maximum of $420 legally allowed.
By pleading guilty Ricasa was forced to resign her seat as a Sweetwater Union High School District trustee. Fellow SUHSD Trustee Pearl Quiñones also pleaded guilty and resigned, leaving the high school district with just three of its normal five trustees.
Two of remaining trustees still face criminal charges.
SWC trustees and administrators have remained quiet about Ricasa’s situation and her future at the college. A poll by The Sun in February showed that the community was aware of the Ricasa case and a solid majority said she should be terminated. Respondents, by a margin of 82 percent to 5 percent, indicated that they favored the college parting ways with Ricasa. Fifteen percent said they were undecided.
Ricasa has refused opportunities to comment.