California Rail Executive Accused of Using Public Money to Build Secret Apartment in Station

A California railway executive stole public money and then built a fancy apartment inside an old train stop. He lived there while working eighty hours a week.

Thursday, the district attorney for San Mateo County said that Joseph Navarro had been found guilty of spending $42,000 to build his own home inside the Burlingame rail station, which is 16 miles south of San Francisco.

Navarro, who used to be the deputy director at Caltrain, set up the private pad with a bedroom, living room, and gym.

The 67-year-old man and Seth Worden, a former station manager and TASI worker, planned to get money to build a house in a part of the historic building while saying they were remodeling an office.

It was also alleged that Worden, who is 62 years old, spent an extra $8,000 building his own house three miles away at the Millbrae station.

They planned the projects in the back room from 2019 to 2021.

The rail service says that Caltrain officials knew about Worden’s digs in 2020, but they didn’t know where Navarro was until they got a tip in 2022.

In March 2024, almost three years after the job was done, the two men were sent to court.

After the charges were brought, Michelle Bouchard, Executive Director of Caltrain, said, “Using public funds for personal gain is against the law, against Caltrain policy, and against the public’s trust.”

“Caltrain looks into every claim of this kind of misconduct. If there is evidence of illegal behavior by an employee or a contractor, we take action right away to fix the problem and hold those responsible accountable.”

The lawyers for Navarro said that the time limit had passed, but the judges decided that the charges were brought within the three-year limit.

Worden agreed to witness against Navarro in January and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge of embezzlement by a public officer.

He let his ex-girlfriend stay with him while she healed from surgery while he was living at the station.

The fact that Navarro’s assistant also had a key to the hidden apartment made people wonder if he had kept it a secret from anyone.

During the trial, prosecutors said that Navarro and Worden planned to hide what they were doing by not leaving any paper trails and keeping bills below $3,000, which is the lowest amount needed for extra approval.

“This is a case of abusing power and authority.” “Mr. Navarro abused his power as director of rail operations in more than one way, more than once, and in ways that affected more than one person,” Deputy District Attorney Joseph said. “He abused his power, and it hurt more than just him.”

“Making a historic train station your personal crash pad is a clear case of conflict of interest,” Cannon said. “Surely that makes sense.”

Built in 1894, Burlingame Station is a Mission Revival-style building that was named a state landmark in 1971.

The station in the Bay Area was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Navarro, who has been living in Pennsylvania, is set to get his sentence on June 11.

There is a chance that the former executive would get probation instead of the maximum sentence of four years in jail.

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