At one point in a press conference in his office, Reiner displayed a diamond ring, valued at $25,000, which he charged Tokunaga had bought for his wife with the proceeds from some of the thefts.
But, he added, investigators have been unable to confirm an informant's' reports filed with the court alleging that Tokunaga devoted $100,000 of the money to buying a house for a girlfriend.
Tokunaga told The Times Wednesday that he had no immediate comment on any of the charges.
Reiner said that the owners of one of the cooperating firms, Koby's Appliance of Gardena, have been granted immunity from prosecution for the records and information that they provided investigators.
Operators of two other firms, Lawndale Nurseries and Omni, the latter owned by Fullerton businessman Ronald Richardson, who cooperated with authorities in the investigation, have not been granted immunity, Reiner said. But, he added, they may receive some consideration for their cooperation when charges are filed against them later.
"Our purpose in filing charges today . . . principally against Riley, is to send a message to the employees of the district that this is a wide-ranging and serious investigation and the message is to encourage them to come forward with information," the district attorney said. SCHOOL THEFT
Here is one example of what Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner described as a typical method employed by the suspects to pull off their string of thefts against the school district.
James Riley, director of operations (custodians) for the Los Angeles Unified School District, receives $5,920 worth of electronic products from Koby's Appliance of Gardena.
Riley approves a Los Angeles Unified School District purchase order for $5,920 prepared by his deputy, Melvin Tokunaga.
Tokunaga submits the purchase order for supplies to Lawndale Nurseries. The supplies are never delivered to the school district.
Lawndale Nurseries pays $5,920 to Omni, a firm operated by Fullerton businessman Ronald Richardson.
Omni pays $5,920 to Koby's, reimbursing it for the goods it sent to Riley.
