REDWOOD CITY — The former Caltrain deputy director who embezzled nearly $40,000 in public funds to build a “crash pad” in the historic Burlingame train station — complete with a gym and shower — was sentenced to 120 days in county jail.

At a hearing Wednesday morning, Joseph Vincent Navarro’s defense attorney, Andrew Vandeveld, said that Navarro felt remorseful for his actions and maintained his positive contributions to the transit agency.

“He didn’t build this house so he could sleep on the job,” Vandeveld said at the hearing. “He built this house so he could do his job.”

Navarro was found guilty of one felony count of misuse of public funds following a jury trial in April.

On Monday, Navarro’s co-defendant, Seth Andrew Worden, was sentenced to 60 days in county jail and one year of supervised probation, and he was ordered to pay $8,144.01 in restitution for his role in the scheme, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. Worden accepted a plea deal for a misdemeanor embezzlement charge in exchange for testifying against Navarro.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa A. Novak also sentenced Navarro to two years of probation and set conditions including maintaining full time employment and not holding a job in which he has any fiduciary responsibility.

“You had a good and solid career and the respect of a lot of coworkers, and you lost that,” Novak said to Navarro at the hearing.

Novak said that the crime was aggravated because the funds Navarro misappropriated were public funds. She added that it was “in part motivated by this degree of arrogance.”

Between 2019 and 2021, Navarro embezzled $38,000 to conduct renovations on an office in the Burlingame train station, prosecutors said. Keeping the invoices under a $3,000 threshold in order to avoid further scrutiny of company executives, Navarro installed a shower, a kitchen, heating and more in the historic station.

In 2019, Worden, who was the TransAmerica Services Inc. station manager, used $8,000 of public funds to turn a section of the Millbrae train station into a private apartment. Under the direction of Navarro, Worden also hired contractors for many of the renovations to the Burlingame station — and was told to keep the changes quiet by Navarro, prosecutors said.

Navarro lived at the Burlingame station until 2022, and Worden resided at the Millbrae station until 2020, prosecutors said. Navarro’s ex-girlfriend also stayed with him at the station while she was recovering from surgery.

At the trial in April, Vandeveld argued that Navarro had permission to construct the apartment, painting him as a “dedicated railroad man” and adding that it was well-known that Navarro frequently slept in his office. The jury ultimately sided with the prosecution, who argued that Navarro’s misuse of funds was an “abuse of power and abuse of authority.”

The probation officer had recommended a sentence of eight months to the court, which prosecutor Joseph Cannon, a San Mateo County deputy district attorney, said was an appropriate sentence. Vandeveld requested a lesser sentence and the opportunity for Navarro to serve his time through a sheriff’s work program.

“I don’t doubt that he is remorseful. It’s a qualifying remorse at best,” Cannon said at the hearing. “He did this to enrich himself.”

Cannon said that the primary issue was Navarro’s use of public funds and “the manner in which he used it was completely unjust.” He added that Navarro treated the train station “as his own fiefdom” and that requests he made to his employees to drive his girlfriend to medical appointments were an abuse of power.

Vandeveld said that Navarro had good intentions behind his wrongful actions and added that he did not take anything with him from the train station. He also said that Navarro’s decision to move his girlfriend into the station to care for her while she was sick showed his good character.

“The improvements are still there,” Vandeveld said. “This isn’t a situation where a public official has absconded with money.”

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said that, while Navarro’s sentence was less than they had wanted, it was “still a very fair sentence. … Hopefully Mr. Navarro has learned from this.”

After the hearing, Vandeveld said that the sentence was “very fair” and “appropriate for the level of conduct.”

“He had the intention of doing good things and just didn’t proceed in the proper manner,” Vandeveld said. “He’s looking forward to putting this saga behind him and moving on with his life as positively as he can.”

Worden’s sentence was “very fair and appropriate,” Wagstaffe said.

“He had shown early on his remorse for his participation in this game, had agreed to and did testify at the trial of Mr. Navarro, which to us shows a sense of remorse and paying back for what he had done,” Wagstaffe said. “We applaud the judge for the sentence.”

The sentence is modifiable and Worden will likely not serve any time in jail, said his defense attorney Jeffrey Hayden. Instead, he can serve his time through the sheriff’s work program.

“Under the circumstances, that’s a very fair outcome in his case,” Hayden said. “He made a mistake, but he’s an honest guy. He’s not predisposed. He’s not trying to take advantage of anybody.”

Hayden said Worden slept overnight at the station and that very little was “done for his benefit.” He added that Worden feels relieved by the outcome of the case and has a “genuine sense of regret.”

Wednesday’s sentencing hearing also saw brief discussion of the matter of how much restitution Navarro will pay Caltrain, but Vandeveld requested that a separate restitution hearing be scheduled to settle the matter. Novak indicated plans to impose restitution of close to $42,000 and said that the amount would not be diminished.

Vandeveld stated that the restitution should be less because many of the changes made remain in the train station. Wagstaffe added that the the defense and prosecution “have a pretty strong disagreement” about the amount of restitution.

“There isn’t going to be a diminished amount because the train station got curtains and a paint job,” Novak said. “That’s not the law of restitution.”

Navarro will next appear in court Aug. 15 for the restitution hearing.