On July 11, Brett Richards, the former General Manager of the Ross Valley Sanitary District, was arrested, without incident, at Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration and the Philippine National Police, according to the Marin County District Attorney's Office.
The arrest stems from a criminal complaint filed in March pertaining to the alleged misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement and multiple counts of money laundering.
After his arrest, Richards was transported to Cebu City where he was temporarily housed. On July 12, Philippine law enforcement agents then transported him to Manila where he was placed in the main Philippine Bureau of Immigration detention processing center.
He will remain in Manila awaiting proceedings scheduled to commence on July 18, 2013, which will deal with his return to the United States and to Marin County where he awaits prosecution.
On March 5, Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian filed a criminal complaint and obtained a felony arrest warrant from the Marin County Superior Court, and bail was set at $1 million. Through its continuing investigation, the D.A.'s Office learned that Richards had fled the United States, and the tracking of his financial records traced him to the Philippines.
Berberian requested the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the provisions of the Federal Fugitive Felon Act and sought the issuance of an Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution warrant. On April 10, a federal Criminal Complaint was filed and a warrant was issued for Richards' arrest. The federal warrant authorized the FBI to work with the appropriate Philippine law enforcement agencies to effectuate the execution of our outstanding criminal warrants.
Berberian said the date of Richards' return to the U.S. is not known, but it is anticipated to be within the next three to six weeks.