Glendale ex-official stole from Montrose farmers market, DA says

Prosecutors allege that former Glendale city councilman John Drayman embezzled between $304,000 and $880,000 from the weekly farmers market in Montrose, and filed false tax returns that did not reflect his true income. Drayman pleaded not guilty to charges that include money laundering, forgery, filing a false financial statement and perjury by declaration. Bail was set at $200,000. The Glendale News-Press has more.

The indictment caps a months-long Glendale police investigation into allegations of embezzlement brought by the Montrose Shopping Park Assn., which operates the Harvest Market every Sunday.

The event had been logging steady losses as early as 2011, when organizers estimated they would lose $52,000 on the venture.

In the years since he helped create the Harvest Market in 2002, Drayman maintained an active role in the market, even after his election to the City Council in 2007.