Ex-coach faces felony theft charge, arraignment

The former Coronado High School football coach at the center of a police investigation involving thousands of dollars in missing student-generated funds now faces an arrest warrant on a felony theft charge.

John Mannion, 50, is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Monday in Henderson Justice Court.

The Clark County district attorney's office accuses Mannion, who was head varsity coach, of stealing $2,500 or more in fundraising money between July 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. A report from the Clark County School District school police specifies that Mannion took $17,851 in student funds.

District Attorney David Roger said if convicted, Mannion faces a sentence ranging from probation to 10 years in a state prison. He also could be fined up to $10,000.

"I understand that parents and students take this alleged violation of trust seriously, and so do we at the district attorney's office," Roger said.

The arrest warrant isn't Mannion's first encounter with the law. In 1988, Mannion was indicted by a federal grand jury in Utah for drug trafficking. He pleaded guilty to the charge and served more than a year in prison for possessing 8 ounces of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

Within three months of his release, Mannion was hired as a Clark County School District custodian. Since 1991, he has worked his way from custodian to coach and also taught classes in wood shop and weight lifting.

Mannion, who did not return calls Thursday, discussed his drug conviction during a March interview with the Review-Journal. At the time of his drug conviction, Mannion said he was addicted to cocaine. He said during the interview that he hasn't used drugs since then and that the conviction saved his life.

"I did everything in my power to put that behind me," Mannion said in March. "It's the only time in my life I've been arrested."

Mannion also said he deserved the second chance he got when he was employed by the district as a custodian.

"I graduated from high school with a 3.86 (grade-point average). I went to college on a football scholarship. I served a mission for two years for my church. If you showed me a background and record like that, I have no problem giving you a second chance."

Mannion said in March that roughly $6,000 was stolen from the football office in late August 2008. He also said that he had kept student-generated funds for weeks at a time because the school banker was not on campus when he was working.

"I'll be the first to say I shouldn't have had it for that long," he said.

Mannion, who was head varsity football coach for just one season at the Henderson school at 1001 Coronado Center Drive near Horizon Ridge Parkway, also taught a weight-lifting class. He previously taught and coached at Del Sol High School in southeast Las Vegas.

District spokesman Michael Rodriguez said Thursday that Mannion hasn't worked at Coronado or any other campus since May 8. Rodriguez said he couldn't confirm whether Mannion was fired or if he resigned because it's a personnel matter.

Rodriguez said he had no details on how Mannion came to be hired because that happened 18 years ago.

State Superintendent of Schools Keith Rheault said in April that state laws in 1991 probably didn't prevent the district from hiring a custodian with a felony record. Rheault was not available for comment Thursday.

"They were pretty loose at the time for nonlicensed employees," Rheault said of the law in April.

Sources within the district said Mannion did become licensed as a teacher. District and state Department of Education officials could not provide details or confirm that Thursday.

Billy Mitchell, the former head freshman football coach at Coronado who was interviewed by school police during the investigation, accused Mannion of exploiting student athletes and their parents.

Mitchell, who teaches computer-aided drafting at Coronado, described Mannion's felony drug conviction as a poorly kept secret. Mitchell said Mannion told parents and players that the fundraising efforts were to buy new uniforms for all levels of the football program.

One sign of financial trouble within the football program surfaced in January, when the school sent a letter to parents of varsity football players asking them to pay $77 each for homecoming jerseys. However, students had raised money specifically for those jerseys during the summer.

School police Lt. Ken Young said their investigation of the missing Coronado football funds was comprehensive.

According to the school police report, 155 members of Coronado's football program were interviewed, along with parents and school staff. The report stated that Mannion required that only cash be given to him as part of fundraising efforts. He collected all the money raised for the football program.

"The officers really took their time to thoroughly investigate the case. They looked at every avenue, every aspect in order not to rush or miss something," Young said.

According to the report, Mannion had large sums of money in his possession that he never turned over to the school banker and never reported missing. At various times, the amount of such student-generated funds in Mannion's custody ranged from $1,900 to $8,945.

The money also was not kept in a secure place. On Feb. 2, Coronado students found more than $5,000 in a bag behind a filing cabinet in Mannion's office, the report said.

"When one file cabinet was moved, the kids found a money bag that was very dirty," the report said. "Inside the money bag was $5,615.00 that was in clean condition and in denominations of 10's, 20's, 50's, and 100's. This money was turned in to the school bank."

The district policy for handling student-generated funds states that all expenditures must be reviewed by a faculty adviser, the principal and a student representative. Purchased goods or services must be used for school operations and the exclusive benefit of students. At the end of every month, all expenses must be made available for public inspection in the principal's office.

At the end of each fiscal year, the district's Division of Business and Finance Services compiles a report on all student-generated funds. Whenever there is a change in staffing, outgoing and incoming personnel must agree on the amount of cash on hand and the book balances.

Young said he didn't think the missing $17,851 from the football program had been recovered. He said he wasn't aware if Mannion had paid any restitution.

Mannion filed for bankruptcy in 2005, listing liabilities that included $41,216 in credit card debt.

His parents were longtime district employees Jack and Terry Mannion. Mannion Middle School in Henderson was named in their honor.

The middle school's Web site credits Mannion's parents with a combined total of 62 years of service. Jack Mannion was a coach, a teacher and an assistant principal. Terry Mannion was a teacher, dean, principal and an assistant superintendent.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.