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Former top cop in Garden Grove guilty of embezzlement
April 1st, 2009, 3:00 am · 17 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
Frank Kessler, once Garden Grove’s top cop, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling funds recently in Riverside Superior Court.
He’ll be sentenced May 1, and faces up to 180 days of probation, said John Hall of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
But Kessler isn’t the one with the big problems. Those belong to his wife, Suzanne, who heads to court Thursday.
Frank Kessler, 76, was a Canyon Lake city councilman last March when more than $6,000 of personal expenses popped up on his city 
credit card. He and Suzanne were on a Hawaii cruise at the time, and the money paid for casino tokens and booze. (Kessler said he mistook the city card for a personal card.)
When we wrote about this in December, our readers were quick to lump Frank Kessler in with the likes of former OC Sheriff Mike Carona - calling Kessler corrupt, and worse. But the felony complaint filed by the Riverside District Attorney ( kessler-complaint) makes it painfully clear that the target of the investigation was not Kessler, but his wife:
- The former police chief was named in two of the 23 counts.
- Wife Suzanne was named in all of them.
For some context, see top photo. The couple is pictured in 2007 at the Los Alamitos race track - that’s Frank Kessler to the right, and Suzanne in the center. They were among 15 owners of a once-
undefeated race horse named Bikers Bono (right), who disappointed them by coming in second in the Governor’s Cup race.
Anyway. Suzanne Kessler stands accused of writing bad checks worth some $119,000, as well as borrowing more than $800,000 under the pretense she’d repay her debts from a trust account. That trust account, however, does not exist.
Suzanne spent months in jail, was released, went back, and was released again. She faces some 23 years if convicted on all counts, and heads into a settlement hearing on Thursday. Her public defender, Steve Hardman, declined comment on the case until it’s resolved.
Seems like a pretty sad story all around.
In Garden Grove, Kessler was police chief, councilman and mayor. He retired in 1994 at age 62, after 18 years of service to the city. The couple moved to their weekend home in Canyon Lake, then a Riverside community of just 13,000 people.
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Why is he the former top cop in the headline and not former Councilman or Mayor. Just the register taking another cheap shot at law enforcement. What a bunch of crap! Report the news not your biases.
just another corrupt law man!
Money the root of all evil.
another greedy, immoral top cop? we should have law that double jail time for law enforcement breaking the law.
Love the “reporting style” here. Is this a report or a letter to some old friend?
Ex.
“Anyway. Suzanne Kessler stands accused of writing bad checks worth some $119,000, as well as borrowing more than ….”
or
“Seems like a pretty sad story all around.”
Wow, you might almost be able to believe that he grabbed the wrong credit card while on vacation. Until you read about his wife’s actions. Jeez.
I agree with Bob. Any government official who commets a crime should get twice the sentence.
Lifetime medical benefits and a sweet pension weren’t enough for him?
Why did he retire but still had the city credit card?
He did not return it so there was a chance of misuse,
didn’t he?
The pension from police career is very lucrative, so
greeds tell him what to do
fifi, you’ll never get your wish. the old fallacy of ‘held to a higher standard’ was just a phrase to hoodwink you out of more taxdollars. nothing but a ruse. billy bob selling pot on the street corner is held to a much higher standard then they are. instead of double the time you would be lucky to get half the time. more like a quarter or no time, just like with Kessler. better to just keep that 3%@50 rolling in and go back to the old American Idol reruns.
J Nguyen - Kessler was retired from Garden Grove’s police department, but he was NOT retired from the Canyon Lake city council … he was still a councilman when all this occurred.
Mandu,may I correct you?
The correct quote is “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.” Money isn’t evil because it’s an inanimate object. It’s people who can be evil.
Teri, how much is his GG city pension, does he still get health insurance thru the city, and will his conviction have any effect on those?
This is no surprise to me! I have dealt with Garden Grove Police recently and I will attest that at least this officer fabricated and twisted the truth when witting his report to cover up his poor police work and lack of investigative skill. These police are given a lot of power over the average citizen and absolute power corrupts absolutely, no surprise!
TYpical of most cops always looking to get over and not pay full price!
Hey, look, OCWatchdog got linked here!
http://localgovwatch.blogspot.com/
Good questions, Rickywhy! Garden Grove informs us that the former chief’s benefits remain intact. The prosecutor could have asked the judge to take them away; but that was not the case.