Former Santa Clara Swim Club coach John Bitter will soon be facing felony charges, according to The Silicon Valley Voice.
Bitter is accused of embezzling more than $600,000 from the club.
An arrest could come at any time as the Santa Clara District Attorney is waiting for a judge to issue an arrest warrant.
“There’s a tremendous backlog,” prosecutor Peter Waite told The Voice. “I’m told up to six months from the time we file criminal charges until the court actually issues the complaint and actually issues an arrest warrant.”
Bitter was relieved of his duties after the club learned of financial irregularities. A letter was sent out to the members of SCSC on Saturday indicating that over $600,000 was misappropriated.
Photo Courtesy: Catherine Ladd
Bitter was also the former Chairman for the Pacific Swimming Local Swim Committee and former Vice-Chair of Program Development for USA Swimming.
Over the course of his 30 years in the coaching profession, Bitter had the opportunity to train, develop, and establish swimmers and programs throughout the United States. He came to SCSC in September of 1995 as the Associate Head Coach, under Dick Jochums. Working with Jochums, SCSC went on to win two National titles for men and one national title combined.
Following the retirement of Jochums in December of 2006, Bitter was elevated to the position of Head Coach of Santa Clara Swim Club. In that position, the club saw tremendous growth in terms of both performance and number of swimmers and programs offered to the swimming community. In September of 2009, John was also given the title of CEO of the organization.
As a coach, Bitter’s accomplishments have been numerous. He was an Assistant Coach for USA Swimming’s Junior Pan-Pac team in 2010, a two-time USA Swimming Select Camp coach, and a USA Swimming Zone Development Camp Coach.
Read The Voice’s article here.
Mark Van Voorst. Yeah, this could affect the team.