Police Employee Sentenced in Property Room Embezzlement
A Torrance Police Department employee who pleaded no contest to embezzling $72,000 from the police property room was sentenced to one year in County Jail and ordered to repay the money.
John Edward Lakatos, 32, was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday and told to return Sept. 5 for a restitution hearing in which it will be determined how and when he will return the money, his attorney Bill Bartz said.
The embezzlement caused a number of Torrance city officials to question the supervisorial skills of Torrance Police Chief Joseph De Ladurantey, who resigned earlier this month.
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