By Khalida Sarwari
The former treasurer of the parent-teacher organization at San Jose’s Trace Elementary School faces up to one year in jail after pleading no contest to embezzling more than $20,000 from the organization, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced today.
Anne Zingale, 49, of San Jose, pleaded no contest on Wednesday to felony grand theft, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said that during her tenure as treasurer of the organization from 2008 to 2009, Zingale used a debit card issued by the PTO to withdraw cash and make unauthorized purchases.
The investigation into the embezzlement allegations began in October 2010 after a new PTO member noticed a suspicious iTunes transaction and other unauthorized transactions by Zingale and the organization’s president, Vanessa Eleana Reyes, while reviewing the organization’s financial documents, according to the district attorney’s office.
Reyes, 40, of San Gabriel, pleaded no contest in May to felony grand theft and has paid restitution for the money that she stole, with interest, as part of a plea agreement, prosecutors said.
Zingale is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13.
