Updated 1:25 p.m.: Montrose local and former Glendale council member John Drayman has been indicted on felony charges that he allegedly embezzled nearly $305,000 from the , according to the District Attorney's Office.
Drayman, 54, was arraigned at a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday morning, Sgt. Tom Lorenz, City of Glendale public information officer, told Patch.
He pleaded not guilty to following a 28-count grand jury indictment unsealed by Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg, officials said.
Drayman faces up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted. He is held on $200,000 bail.
The former councilman who left office last year was remanded into custody to give Glendale police 24 hours to confirm his bond source, according to the Glendale News-Press.
Deputy District Attorneys Susan Schwartz and Dana Aratani with the Public Integrity Division will prosecute the case.
Beginning in 2002, Drayman served as the director of the Montrose Shopping Park Association's Sunday Harvest Market, along Honolulu Avenue in the heart of Montrose.
His role as director meant collecting proceeds from the local event and giving the money to the association's treasurer.
in May 2011 and reported it to Glendale Police Department, the indictment states.
The indictment alleges that Drayman embezzled an estimated $305,000 between Jan. 1, 2004 and April 30, 2011 from the farmers' market and laundered the money through his personal bank account, officials said. Drayman left office last year.
Drayman allegedly committed perjury by omitting sources of income on his Fair Political Practices Forms. He allegedly submitted a false credit application to a mortgage lender in 2010 and did not report income to the California Franchise Tax Board, according to the indictment.
The Glendale Police Department and the Franchise Tax Board launched an investigation of Drayman and the Montrose Shopping Park's Sunday farmer's market.
Drayman is charged in BA396116 with one count of embezzlement by a public officer, 10 counts of filing a false tax return, five counts of money laundering, three counts of forgery, one count of submitting a false financial statement and eight counts of perjury. The indictment also includes an excessive loss allegation that the loss exceeds $100,000.
Drayman will be at Department 100, Foltz Criminal Justice Center at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday for a source of bail motion.
