Schools
Former Monte Vista Baseball Coach Convicted of Embezzlement of Team Funds
Larry Rinehart faces up to three years in state prison and will be sentenced Aug. 30.
Former East County baseball coach Larry Rinehart was convicted Tuesday on a pair of felony counts for embezzling teams funds when coaching at in Spring Valley from 2005-07.
Rinehart, 59, was found guilty on two of three charges for taking more than $16,000 from a team account, then losing the funds while gambling at county casinos.
A jury needed a half-day to come to the verdict. He faces up to three years in state prison and will be sentenced Aug. 30, according to prosecutor Daniel Shim. Restitution will also be sought.
Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Rinehart retired earlier this year as a teacher in the Grossmont Union High School District, most recently instructing courses in accounting and personal finance at Helix Charter High School in La Mesa.
Rinehart's wife, Margaret, was , but Superior Court Judge Lantz Lewis dismissed that charge in May because of insufficient evidence. Shim noted the District Attorney's Office refiled charges against her in a case that is pending.