Pechanga Resort official arrested in alleged theft

Authorities say the financial controller for Temecula Hotel-Casino diverted $489,000

By Ashley Powers

Times Staff Writer

      A financial officer for the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula was arrested Wednesday for allegedly embezzling nearly a half-million dollars, Riverside County authorities said.

      Paul Del Vacchio, 39, of Murrieta was financial controller for the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians' casino, and allegedly funneled $489,000 into his personal bank account over the last two years, a sheriff's spokesman said.

      Del Vacchio is expected to be charged with embezzlement and grand theft on Friday. He is not a tribal member.

      Officials said they were continuing to investigate whether more money was stolen. The Pechanga Gaming Commission, which monitors gambling on the Pechanga reservation, released a statement saying that it too was pursuing the case and that "further comment would not be appropriate."

      County officials said they were notified after Wells Fargo Bank ran a "routine check" of Del Vacchio's account and alerted the casino. Sheriff's deputies first questioned Del Vacchio two weeks ago, and on Wednesday they searched his home while he was out.

      While officials were removing his personal computer and financial documents, Del Vacchio returned home. He was arrested without a struggle, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Earl Quinata, and booked at Southwest Detention Center near Murrieta. He will probably be arraigned Friday.

      A woman who answered Del Vacchio's home phone Wednesday declined to comment. His father, in Florida, also declined to comment.

      The Pechanga resort has 500 hotel rooms and 2,000 slot machines, with gambling established in 1995.

      Such charges are not uncommon among tribal operations throughout the nation.

      On Tuesday, a woman pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $24,000 from the Catawba tribe in North Carolina, according to news reports.

      In February, a man was sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison for stealing $97,000 from the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes in Montana, and filing a false tax form.

      In January, a bookkeeper was sentenced to house arrest and probation for stealing more than $32,800 from an Assiniboine-Sioux tribe's casino, also in Montana.