Developers face criminal
charges of grand theft

By Neal Putnam
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — The attorney for a former employee of an Alpine developer also charged with grand theft said Monday, Dec. 17, his client is innocent of the three charges against her. Attorneys for three Alpine developers also charged could not be reached for comment after repeated attempts.
     Paul Gonya, 63, Kenneth Stroud, 52, and David Waitley, 44, have been charged with conspiracy and 113 counts of grand theft that allege they embezzled more than $1.4 million from their companies, Real Estate International, Inc. (REI-NC), for their own use. Marie Frever, 38, worked for one of the companies, and is charged with three counts of grand theft.
     All four co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges in San Diego Superior Court. So far, their only future court date is a status conference set for Jan. 8.
     Gonya and Waitley have both served as members of the Alpine Planning Group in the past.
     Gonya served on the APG for four years, as APG vice-chairman and head of the Private Actions Subcommittee, which rules on local zoning and permitting issues, before losing his re-election bid in November 2004.
     Waitley, who also served for four years, was originally appointed to a vacant seat on the board, chaired the Circulation subcommittee, as well as private actions, before losing his seat in the November 2006 planning group election.
     Carter Johnston, an Alpine attorney who is defending Frever, said the charges involved an accounting error and other circumstances that have been misinterpreted by the District Attorney's office.
     "I don't believe my client has done anything wrong," said Carter to The Alpine Sun.
     Frever worked for Stroud as a construction coordinator and told officials she never worked for Gonya, according to court documents.
     Johnston said Frever purchased one of the homes that was meant for another buyer but the deal fell through for them. She agreed to pay the current price but did not pay the $5,000 contingency fee because she was an hourly paid employee, said her attorney. Frever is charged with grand theft that alleges she should have paid the $5,000 fee.
     The arrest warrant affidavit says Frever unlawfully obtained a refund of $22,353, but Johnston said that was an accounting error. The third charge against her also involves a mistake, said Johnston.
     Johnston said his client was shocked to learn she was accused of wrongdoing.
     Gonya is accused of using an expense account to pay for APG campaigning posters as well as supplies for his horse ranch, which is called the Alpine Oaks Ranch. Waitley is accused of charging for reimbursement for personal expenses such as landscaping at his Alpine home.
     All three men are accused of working together to defraud companies that were formed to build 52 semi-custom homes in Alpine, called the Stagecoach development. Gonya is accused of having his companies "commingling expenses... and engaging in business dealings that resulted in confusion" between the companies, according to the arrest warrant declaration.
     Court records contain a list of work done by Alpine companies that were billed to the Stagecoach project, but had nothing to do with the development. Examples include septic system work done at Waitley's home for $2,800, and Gonya seeking lumber being delivered to a house on Harbison Canyon Road that had nothing to do with the Stagecoach project, according to the arrest warrant declaration.
     The arrest warrant states that Stroud admitted that money from petty cash was used for unauthorized expenses.
The prosecutor, James Waters, repeatedly did not return phone calls for comment.
     The case began as a civil suit and has been investigated for several years before the charges were filed last month. The civil lawsuit, filed in April 2005, by Dartmouth Development Company, Inc., against REI and Gonya, Waitley and Stroud, alleged fraud, embezzlement, breach of contract and accounting problems between the business partners.
     Gonya settled the civil case for $1 million, and both Waitley and Stroud settled for $720,000 in November 2006.
     Gonya, Waitley, and Stroud all remain free on $100,000 bond. Frever is free on $25,000 bond.

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