Former San Anselmo Recreation Coordinator Arrested for Embezzlement

A former employee is being arraigned Friday on one count of misdemeanor embezzlement, according to Marin County Superior Court papers.

Chris Thoennes, who worked as the sports program coordinator for the town for a number of years, was arrested in January for taking proceeds from the Snack Shack, said Det. Cpl. Julie Gorwood. Police estimate Thoennes, 45, of Rohnert Park, took approximately $5,200 between March and July of 2010.

Thoennes is being charged with a misdemeanor, though, because police can only document less than $950 in missing funds.

The town operates the Snack Shack for softball and little league games, as well as for Memorial Park events. The San Anselmo Baseball Association (SABA) handles their own deposits and has a different accounting system in place. 

According to Gorwood, the embezzlement came to light when town recreation services director Dave Donery implemented daily deposit sheets at the Snack Shack (which does an all-cash business) and requested an accounting report in light of a SABA meeting scheduled for January to discuss possible snack price changes.

At that time, once a due date for a report was set, Thoennes realized he wasn't going to be able to make the ledgers add up, said Gorwood, and admitted to stealing money while operating the Snack Shack.

Thoennes admitted to police he had taken somewhere between $3,500 and $4,000, but because of a lack of records over the duration of the embezzlement, "he was just trying to guess how much money he had actually taken," Gorwood said.

Police investigators collected documents for the previous 10 years through 2007 and made an estimate on how much the Snack Shack should have taken in based on those years and the number of games. According to the police estimates, the amount missing was closer to $5,200.

Once the police department handed the case over to the district attorney's office, however, documentation was needed to determine the exact amount to charge Thoennes with, even with the confession, Gorwood said.

"It's not like there was any real good record keeping," said Gorwood.

For 2010, a new system of daily deposit sheets was implemented, where the people running the shack had to note down how many of each bill were collected and file those sheets. But, only six of those sheets could be located for the period in question, so only $769 could be proved to be missing from till. That meant Thoennes is being charged with a misdemeanor for embezzlement less than $950, for taking property for his own use in his capacity as a clerk or employee of the town, according to court papers. A charge of embezzlement of more than $950 would be a felony.

Town staff would not comment on the case, instead directing questions to Gorwood, who said Donery is in the process of implementing a new accounting system, "because there wasn't a formal process before."

That new system is expected to include the daily deposit sheets filed each day with the recreation department and possibly two people signing-off on the deposit sheets, to safeguard the process, similar to what SABA has already implemented.

Thoennes worked for the department for a number of years off and on as a coordinator for sports games, parties, and events and was well-known in the community. He only took on the duties of running the Snack Shack after 2007. According to Gorwood, Thoennes said he took the money to help support his family.

Thoennes did not respond to requests for comment. Though town staff could not comment on personnel matters, it was confirmed Thoennes no longer works for the town.