Jeffrey Alcantara is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from Deerwood Academy.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published June 7, 2003
PORT RICHEY - Jeffrey Alcantara was arrested Friday on charges he spent thousands of dollars of public school money on strippers, an $11,000 Rolex watch, dinners, clothing, jewelry and a car.
Alcantara, a felon with a long history of court-documented scams behind him, even used the money he took from Deerwood Academy charter school to pay restitution for past crimes, according to state investigators.
Alcantara was arrested at his home on Hyssop Street in Port Richey at 2 p.m. Friday. He was taken to the county jail in Land O'Lakes, where he was being held Friday evening pending $500,000 bond for 75 charges that included racketeering, grand theft, forgery and money laundering.
"He didn't steal anything," said Alcantara attorney George Tragos. "If it all totals out, the school probably owes him money."
Tragos said Alcantara, 50, who was employed by Deerwood from August 2001 to September 2002, loaned the school money when it was in need - a defense Tragos said he planned to flesh out in court after Alcantara pleads not guilty.
Pasco County School District officials took over the school in October 2002 after the State Attorney's Office opened an investigation into the school's finances. Shortly thereafter, district officials concluded $115,828 in taxpayer money could not be accounted for by the school. A November 2002 investigation by the Times put the loss at nearly $96,000.
Deerwood, which serves 200 middle school students, has received about $1.29-million from taxpayers since it opened in August 2001.
Investigators with the State Attorney's Office concluded that Alcantara misappropriated about $100,000 by submitting fraudulent invoices to the school for air conditioning installation, classroom renovations, plumbing and electrical work, general labor and telephone installation that was never performed, according to court documents.
Additionally, state investigators found, Alcantara made about $107,000 in deposits to his personal checking account during his Deerwood affiliation, $24,000 of which was in cash.
At the same time, he was receiving between $300 and $500 a month in Social Security disability payments, according to court documents.
Alcantara, whose name was once Angel Alcantara, began his association with the school as a parent volunteer, as his son was enrolled at the Pine Hill Road campus. His daughter, Nicole, and ex-wife, Joanne, both worked at the school.
When he was hired by school founder Hank Johnson, he quickly became Deerwood's go-to guy, preparing classrooms, hiring contractors and purchasing supplies.
The state investigator's report claims that Nicole Alcantara, Deerwood's bookkeeper at the time, disguised some of Alcantara's misappropriations.
No one other than Jeffrey Alcantara has been charged in the case. Not Nicole Alcantara. Not Aristides Poppiti, Jeffery Alcantara's friend who investigators say cashed some of the school checks written to pay for the fraudulent invoices.
Neither Poppiti nor Nicole Alcantara could be reached for comment Friday evening.
J. Larry Hart, Johnson's attorney, said the school founder cooperated fully with the investigation.
"The investigation has not revealed any evidence whatsoever of criminal wrongdoing on the part of Dr. Johnson," Hart said.
Pasco County School Board member Marge Whaley said word of the arrest was a relief. The school district has increased its monitoring of the charter schools since news of the Deerwood situation first broke.
"It's a whole different place now," Whaley said. "All those family members are gone."
- Times staff writer Cary Davis contributed to this report. Rebecca Catalanello covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is rcatalanello@sptimes.com
