Visalia man pleads no contest to Clovis union theft

A Clo­vis union trea­surer admit­ted Thurs­day to tak­ing more than $150,000 from his union when he pleaded no con­test to a felony embez­zle­ment charge in Fresno County Supe­rior Court. John Mor­ton Wat­son, 38, of Visalia, remains free until his April sen­tenc­ing.
Judge Alan Simp­son said he will eval­u­ate Watson’s pro­ba­tion report to deter­mine his sen­tence. Simp­son said he is encour­aged by Watson’s efforts to repay all the money he stole from the Clo­vis Fire­fight­ers Association.