Embattled ex-California mayor arrested at airport on numerous charges

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A former California mayor was arrested Sunday at the San Francisco International Airport, where he arrived from a vacation in South America, his attorney said.

Anthony Silva, the former mayor of Stockton, was arrested while he was returning from a trip to Colombia, his attorney, Allen Sawyer, told KCRA-TV.

An arrest warrant was issued for Silva on Thursday on charges of profiteering, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and grand theft, among other charges. He will face the charges in San Joaquin County.

Silva left for his vacation on Wednesday, a day before FBI agents and investigators from the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office served search warrants at Silva's home and the Stockton Kids Club, which Silva used to run when it was known as the Boys and Girls Club.

The former mayor posted an image on Facebook indicating he was flying to Panama, and referencing a song by John Denver.

EMBATTLED EX-CALIFORNIA MAYOR FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES

"Apparently Stockton can manage without me for a while so I decided to go explore the world. I am leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again," he wrote.

A second post was a video in which Silva indicated he was in Colombia. Both posts have since been removed.

Sawyer said Silva's arrest is not related to the charges he faced in Amador County last year for allegedly eavesdropping during a strip poker party at a youth camp he ran.

“This is a completely unrelated case, a new case, and it’s financial in nature," Sawyer told the station Thursday. "It illuminates that it has anything to do with a type of personal crime or anything crime of violence or any crime against a person."

Silva was charged with four misdemeanor counts for secretly recording portions of a teen counselor strip poker game and providing alcohol to minors. He denied the charges.

Silva also had a run-in with the law in 2015, when he failed to immediately report that two guns had been stolen from his house at separate times. Only after one of his weapons was used in the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy did Silva notify police.

As for the latest search warrants, the district attorney's office would only say they are part of an on-going investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.