Man pleads guilty to embezzlement

Marisa O’Neil

A former youth soccer leader pleaded guilty on Friday to embezzling

more than $100,000 from a local league.

Anthony Leon Anish, a former American Youth Soccer Organization

regional commissioner and coach, was sentenced to three years formal

probation and ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device for 90

days, in lieu of jail time, said Mark Macaulay, spokesman for the

Orange County district attorney’s office.

Anish also settled a civil lawsuit, filed against him in 2003,

with the AYSO three weeks ago and agreed to pay $70,000 to the

league. He cited his desire to avoid further attorney fees as his

reason for agreeing to the settlement.

Outside the courtroom, parents and AYSO board members said they

were glad that he pleaded guilty to the charges. They characterized

Anish as a man who charmed his way into their and their children’s

hearts, stole from them and then lied about it.

It will take a long time for the community to get over the

incident, AYSO regional commissioner Chris Sarris said. He also said

he’s glad the whole sordid affair is over.

“This doesn’t heal the community or the children who played on his

team,” Sarris said.

Prosecutor Steve Bickel and Anish’s attorney, Jerry Workman,

refused to comment on the case.

Friday’s plea brought some closure, but it also brought some

disappointment that Anish didn’t get a harsher sentence, parent and

board member Gail Hedrich said.

Anish took over the league in 2001 and was in charge of collecting

and maintaining its funds. Audits of the books after he took over

showed the thousands of dollars missing, board member Pam Garrett

said.

The allegations divided the community, she said, with people who

staunchly supported him and people who saw him as a con man. What’s

most hurtful, Garrett said, is that someone she and others trusted

stole from them.

“We considered him a friend and spent time with him,” Garrett

said. “I feel guilty that I allowed this to happen.”

Anish has so far paid $50,000 in restitution, according to the

district attorney’s office, and has six months to pay the remaining

$20,000. If he does not, he will be responsible for a $130,000 claim

by the AYSO.