Caltrain secret homes case: Ex-employee, contractor waive preliminary hearing, head toward trial

REDWOOD CITY — A former deputy director and a one-time contractor for Caltrain are headed toward trial on charges that they diverted taxpayer dollars to build themselves secret mini-apartments inside two Peninsula train stations that they reportedly used as crash pads before they were discovered.

Joseph Vincent Navarro, 67, and Seth Andrew Worden, 62, appeared in a San Mateo County courtroom Monday, where they waived preliminary hearings for felony counts of misusing public funds.

Navarro and Worden were formally held to answer to the charges by Judge Sean Dabel. They were ordered to return to court Sept. 10 for a second arraignment.

At a preliminary hearing, or examination, a judge decides whether there is enough evidence for a criminal case for to proceed to trial. One reason defendants might waive this hearing is if they anticipate or concede that a judge will rule against them, and want to spare the time and expense of holding the proceeding.

Andrew Vandeveld, an attorney representing Navarro, told this news organization that waiving the hearing “was a strategic decision as we move toward trial.”

“We’re going to defend the case aggressively,” Vandeveld said. “We believe that Mr. Navarro did nothing wrong, that the DA has overstated the case, and we feel (Navarro) acted within the scope of his responsibilities.”

Worden’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Navarro, who now lives in Pennsylvania, is out of custody on $25,000 bail and Worden, who lives in San Diego County, is free on his own recognizance. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office alleges that between 2019 and 2020, Navarro, formerly a deputy director for Caltrain, conspired with Worden and approved $42,000 in building expenses to remodel office space into a small apartment inside the Burlingame train station, a historical landmark built in 1894. Worden is also alleged to have used $8,000 in taxpayer funds to build himself similar living quarters inside the Millbrae train station.

Authorities said Worden drew suspicion first in 2020 after employees discovered the converted space, but that the transit agency did not know about Navarro’s apartment in Burlingame until receiving an anonymous tip in 2022.

Navarro was fired after being confronted with the tip and reportedly admitted to “occasionally using the station as his residence,” prosecutors said, though they assert that he was using the small apartment as his primary residence. Both dwellings have long since been cleared out and restored to working space.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.