Arraignment for Bradley, Gardner scheduled for March 3

The attorney representing one of the recently indicted state hospital employees says that an arraignment date has been tentatively scheduled for March 3.

Fresno-based attorney Scott Quinlan will represent Commander Jeff Bradley in a potential criminal trial to determine whether he knowingly approved $120,000 in overtime pay that Porterville Developmental Center (PDC) Lieutenant Scott Gardner did not work.

The investigation “has been banging around for almost two years now,” Quinlan said. “We think only one side of the events has been presented.”

March 3rd will be the first time the duo will appear before a judge, and each will be asked to enter pleas on multiple felony counts of embezzlement of public funds and grand theft.

Gardner will be represented by Marshall Hodgkins, who won a court room victory Jan. 25 when jurors found that his client, Fresno police officer Marcus Tafoya, was not guilty on seven counts of assault.

Porterville Police allege that Gardner embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay by submitting fraudulent overtime slips, including being paid while taking personal trips to Las Vegas and California’s Central Coast. State records show that he was paid $121,511 worth of overtime in 2008, in addition to his annual salary of $58,939.

Police also allege Bradley knew of and personally approved the fraudulent claims, and personally submitted the fraudulent overtime claims to the PDC’s Finance office, bypassing the normal overtime approval processes. Police have also reported that Bradley was aware that Gardner was actually out of town during times he was scheduled, and paid to be at work.

A specially convened 19-member criminal Grand Jury wrapped up its investigation on Monday, and handed down indictments against 36-year-old Bradley, of Porterville, and 37-year-old Gardner, of Camp Nelson, who were arrested at their homes at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“If they hadn’t used a Grand Jury, the charges wouldn’t have been brought,” Quinlan said. “It would have been a whole lot different in a preliminary trial, their defense attorneys would have been there.”

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.