FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The Fresno Arts Council has appointed a new interim executive director amid a $1.5 million embezzlement scandal.
In its first statement since the news of the alleged embezzlement broke, the Fresno Arts Council announced Andrea Mele has been appointed the non-profit’s new Interim Executive Director.
Mele will serve in the role while the search for a new permanent Executive Director begins. The Fresno Arts Council says it hopes to find “someone with the vision, experience, and courage to help guide the Fresno Arts Council into its next chapter.”
The statement released on Friday also acknowledged the alleged embezzlement but the Arts Council said it could not provide specific details.
“News about the alleged embezzlement at the Fresno Arts Council has understandably brought shock and disappointment. We hear you, we share those concerns, and we are taking action. We are also cooperating with law enforcement and the City of Fresno on all investigative inquiries,” the statement said in part.
Action News sources have exclusively revealed that former operations manager Suliana Caldwell is the woman behind the alleged embezzlement.
Caldwell is not charged with a crime, and city officials have not named her. They have only said there is an ongoing investigation into a now-former employee.
“My client intends to be fully cooperative and tell law enforcement everything the client knows about what went on,” Caldwell’s defense attorney Kevin Rooney said to Action News in February.
City leaders say the missing funds come from Measure P, approved by voters in 2018.
Most of the 30-year sales tax was to build and maintain parks, but 12 percent was earmarked for supporting the arts. The City Council agreed to allow the Arts Council to administer those funds as grants.
To read the Fresno Arts Council’s full statement, click here.
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