Reina\u2019s subsequent court appearances were equally brief. He was not present for an April hearing<\/a>, where Bird requested a continuance and for Reina to travel for a family vacation. Bonilla granted the requests over objections from the prosecution.<\/p>\n The former station executive then briefly appeared via Zoom in June,<\/a> when the case was again continued until Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018This has been going on for way too long\u2019<\/p>\n Several former CapRadio employees and volunteers were in the courtroom as Reina made his brief appearance \u2014 the first time they have seen the former executive after he resigned from the public media station in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cHe seems very tired, which is appropriate,\u201d said former technical director Mark Jones, who retired this month after 47 years with the station. \u201cThis has been going on for way too long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Regarding the continuance, Jones said \u201cif it must be, it must be.\u201d He said CapRadio had been rebuilding since the financial mismanagement came to light more than three years ago, but called the ordeal \u201cvery unnecessary,\u201d and one that left lasting scars.<\/p>\n \u201cThinking about what was lost when the people that were producing shows were let go, because all of a sudden there wasn\u2019t enough money \u2014 why wasn\u2019t there enough money? Well now we know,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n His wife Joey Jones was a longtime volunteer with CapRadio. Joey Jones said she wanted to make sure the voices of other volunteers were being represented, as well as the many donors that contributed to CapRadio during Reina\u2019s employment, referring to them as \u201cvictims.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of waking up every morning and doing his job, living on his income the way the rest of us do, he got up and decided \u2018no, I\u2019m going to misuse those funds and abuse the trust of literally thousands of victims,\u2019\u201d Joey Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said staff had spoken to Reina \u201cwhen things began to look suspicious\u201d regarding the station\u2019s finances, and accused the former executive of lying \u201cdirectly to their faces.\u201d<\/p>\n Former donor services coordinator Patti Stoltz worked for CapRadio for more than a decade before retiring earlier this year. She said she was \u201cvery disappointed\u201d to hear the case was pushed until next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI lost a lot of friends and colleagues with the layoffs; it was a very hard time for those of us that were still there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did [the work] without raises, without contributions to our 401k from our employer, as our benefits were being cut, and to find out that\u2019s because the money was being siphoned off for personal use \u2026 It\u2019s really, really hard,\u201d Stoltz added.<\/p>\n UC Davis law professor Gabriel Chin told CapRadio in January<\/a> the charges filed against Reina are \u201cwobblers,\u201d and could be pursued as misdemeanors or felonies. If convicted on all charges, Chin said Reina could face a wide range of penalties ranging from more than 10 years in prison to \u201cno incarceration at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Stoltz said she has been speaking with current and former CapRadio employees about the ongoing case, and she wants to see consequences if Reina is found guilty.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone’s hoping that if there is a settlement or a plea agreement or it goes to trial, not only with financial restitution, but that some jail time would be involved,\u201d Stoltz said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt needs to end, and I would say that as much restitution as can be made to the station is what we would want,\u201d Mark Jones added.<\/p>\n Background<\/p>\n Reina\u2019s charges stem from his time at CapRadio\u2019s helm. He was hired as the station\u2019s chief financial officer in 2007, and became its chief operating officer in 2013. Reina was later promoted to general manager and executive vice president in 2020.<\/p>\n Reina resigned shortly before CapRadio experienced layoffs and canceled four longtime music programs in August 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n The California State University Chancellor\u2019s office released an audit a month later outlining significant financial mismanagement at CapRadio<\/a>, which is licensed to Sacramento State.\u00a0<\/p>\n The university later commissioned a forensic examination<\/a> that found more than $760,000 in unsupported payments, more than half of which were made to a single station executive, identified by CapRadio reporters as Reina<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sacramento County Sheriff\u2019s Office opened an investigation into Reina in January 2024, which ran until August 2025<\/a>. The district attorney\u2019s office announced charges against Reina on Jan. 29, 2026<\/a>, accusing the former executive of carrying out a \u201cmulti-year scheme\u201d to divert CapRadio funds for personal use.<\/p>\n Prosecutors claim Reina misappropriated approximately $1.33 million in station money through unauthorized credit card charges, payments to personal credit card accounts, and electronic fund transfers from CapRadio\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n CapRadio filed a civil lawsuit against Reina in December 2024<\/a> in Yolo County, accusing the executive of misusing station money to \u201csecretly enrich himself,\u201d including for home improvements, vacations and mortgage payments.<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_093659.jpg\")
Former CapRadio employees Patti Stoltz (left) and Mark Jones (center) and former volunteer Joey Jones (right) stand outside the Sacramento County Main Jail Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n