Duo Accused of Embezzling From Mosquito Control District Prepare For Trial

Trial dates were set Tuesday for two former San Mateo County employees who are accused of slurping hundreds of dollars from the department in charge of controlling mosquitos.

Defendants Jo Ann Dearman, aka Joanne Seeny, and Vika Sinipata, were charged with four counts of embezzling nearly half million dollars from the San Mateo County Mosquito Abatement and Vector Control District, where Dearman worked as the financial director and Sinipata worked as her assistant.

Dearman, who has been arrested for similar occurrences, was hired by the district as Joanne Seeney. Over a two-year period, the suspects are accused of embezzling funds by giving themselves a higher pay rate, time off, and excessive contributions to deferred compensation funds.  They are also accused of using of credit cards for personal purchases.

The scheme was uncovered at a January board meeting when the district questioned an unexplained overpayment of $150,000 from a pesticide fund and got no answers.

Dearman, currently out on $250,000 bail is scheduled to be in court on April 29, while Sinipata, who remains in custody on $150,000 bail, will return to the court that day for sentencing.  Sinipatra pleaded no contest to 12 felony counts in February. 

Also in the news:

Hayward resident Frank Vern Dryden, who is charged with attempted murder, intent to commit bodily harm and illegally possessing a firearm, was in court Tuesday to confirm his trial date of April 29.

His trials began in 2011, when Dryden, 36, answered a Craigslist ad for marijuana. He met the person who is now perceived as his victim at the Burger King on Middlefield Road in Redwood City in December for the transaction, which involved half a pound of marijuana.

The victim was driven to the location by a friend due to some alcohol consumption earlier in the day.  Dryen, who will henceforth be called "the suspect," got in the back seat and flashed a .38 caliber handgun with the intention of robbing the victim.

The victim tried fighting off the suspect, who fired four shots, and was struck in the arms. The driver began to flee the scene and was shot in the buttocks.

The suspect fled the scene, while the victim ran into a Burger King seeking assistance, and then went home to hide the marijuana.

He returned to the scene to report the incident, admitting to the marijuana deal. The suspect was tracked down through his cell phone.

Dryden is in custody with no bail.


Pooroushasb “Peter” Parineh, the Woodside real estate investor accused of murdering his wife for financial gain, had his trial continued to Thursday so the court could consider trial motions.


Gerardo Gontiz, of Redwood City, accused of child molestation, had his trail date continued to October 21. He remains in custody on $350,000 bail.

18-year-old East Palo Alto resident Jose Hugo Munguia Silva, who pleaded no contest to several counts of burglary in Redwood City, was ordered to pay restitution to his victims.  He was orderd to pay a victim by the name of McGinty $14,644.05 and a victim by the name of Spilker $21,278.49. Munguia Silva is in state prison serving a thee-year sentence.

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