Crime

AC Transit CFO Charged With Embezzling from Allen Temple

Published

12 years ago

April 17, 2014

By Leonardo Blair , Christian Post

Lewis G. Clinton Jr., the CFO of Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, was arrested and charged with embezzling more than $500,000 from his own church, the powerful and prestigious Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland-

The revelation has shocked both his church and professional family who learned that he bilked money meant for the poor to pay personal expenses, including golf club memberships, a luxury car, his mortgage and private school for his children, according to press reports.

“Extreme surprise,” said AC Transit’s board president Greg Harper. “Never has there been any thought from any board member or any staff member that he might not be completely ethical.”

While most church officials declined to speak with the media because they could be called as witnesses, the Rev. Daniel Buford, who heads the church’s social justice ministry, said he was shocked by the news.

The scandal-rocked CFO “was a good person and a leader” at Allen Baptist he explained. “I’m just sorry for him and his family.”

Prosecutors say Clinton, who has been CFO at AC Transit since 2008, allegedly diverted more than $500,000 from three nonprofit organizations run by his church to his own company, Eagle Asset Management, between April 2007 and February 2013. The nonprofits were formed by the church to provide housing and deliver services to low and moderate-income families in the Oakland community.

The embezzlement wasn’t discovered until March 2013. Irregularities, however, were noticed in December 2012 by a bookkeeper, but Clinton allegedly reassured a church official that nothing inappropriate was happening.

Clinton is charged with four counts of grand theft and now faces up-to five years in prison if convicted. AC Transit has placed him on administrative leave, but he will continue to receive his $225,000 annual salary while the charges are being investigated.

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

3 days ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.