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Photos: Caltrain official lived in secret apartment built illegally inside train station
News
Photos: Caltrain official lived in secret apartment built illegally inside train station
The lair built in the Burlingame station was furnished and even had a gym.
Joseph Navarro misused $42,000 of public funds to build his home in the historic railway station. | Source: Google Street View
By George Kelly
Published Jun. 12, 2025 • 4:00pm
Joseph Navarro’s apartment was a typical Bay Area bachelor pad: on the small side, somewhat lacking in homey touches or creature comforts. But the location was hard to beat: stashed away inside the Burlingame Caltrain station.
Images released Thursday by the San Mateo County district attorney’s office show the interior of the secret dwelling that Navarro, a former Caltrain deputy director, built illegally using public funds.
Navarro lived in the snug chambers for years, but he will now reside in a county jail for four months. A San Mateo County judge this week sentenced Navarro for the scheme that misused $42,000 in public funds. He was convicted in April of felony theft and embezzlement.
Navarro, 66, who now lives in Newtown, Pennsylvania, received 28 days’ credit for time served and was placed on two years supervised probation by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa A. Novak. He must surrender to jail by Aug. 2. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which owns and operates Caltrain, in an amount to be determined at an Aug. 15 hearing.
{snip}
Photos: Caltrain official lived in secret apartment built illegally inside train station
The lair built in the Burlingame station was furnished and even had a gym.
Joseph Navarro misused $42,000 of public funds to build his home in the historic railway station. | Source: Google Street View
By George Kelly
Published Jun. 12, 2025 • 4:00pm
Joseph Navarro’s apartment was a typical Bay Area bachelor pad: on the small side, somewhat lacking in homey touches or creature comforts. But the location was hard to beat: stashed away inside the Burlingame Caltrain station.
Images released Thursday by the San Mateo County district attorney’s office show the interior of the secret dwelling that Navarro, a former Caltrain deputy director, built illegally using public funds.
Navarro lived in the snug chambers for years, but he will now reside in a county jail for four months. A San Mateo County judge this week sentenced Navarro for the scheme that misused $42,000 in public funds. He was convicted in April of felony theft and embezzlement.
Navarro, 66, who now lives in Newtown, Pennsylvania, received 28 days’ credit for time served and was placed on two years supervised probation by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Lisa A. Novak. He must surrender to jail by Aug. 2. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which owns and operates Caltrain, in an amount to be determined at an Aug. 15 hearing.
{snip}