Crime & Safety
Cameron Teacher Indicted on Embezzlement & Fraud Charges
The Cameron Middle School social studies teacher is expected to be arraigned on Oct. 7 in First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.
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A New Mexico grand jury indicted William “Kal” Kalinowski, a former Santa Fe home builder, on 10 counts of embezzlement and fraud over $20,000.
Kalinowski has been teaching social studies at Cameron Middle School. (There is a report he may have resigned his position. Patch is waiting to hear back from Framingham Public Schools to confirm.)
Kalinowski has been living in Duxbury since he left New Mexico.
A criminal summons was issued ordering Kalinowski, 68, to appear in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe for an arraignment on Oct. 7 at 10 a.m.
Each count against Kalinowski is a second-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of nine years in prison.
The case is being handled by the Regulation and Licensing Department’s Special Prosecutor Scott Mullins under the jurisdiction of First Judicial District Attorney Angela “Spence” Pacheco.
The state spent two years investigating the Kalinowski case, including executing search warrants, conducting interviews with dozens of victims and presenting grand jury testimony.
Wayne Dotson, who headed up the Regulation and Licensing Department investigation at the time, said the losses added up to $11 million.
In addition to a potential prison sentence, Kalinowski could also be ordered to pay restitution, fines and costs.
"It's the largest case we had ever handled at the Regulation and Licensing Department," Dotson said.
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For two decades, Kalinowski had successfully built and sold 50 houses in this area, reported SantaFeNewMexican.com
In 2007, one of the homes he built received the Grande Hacienda award in the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association’s Parade of Homes, the Santa fe web site reported.
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His best-known company was Barranca Builders. He also was connected with numerous other companies, including K2 Construction (a business co-owned by his sister-in-law, Karen Kalinowski), Fourteen Pueblos Construction Co. and Twenty-two Park Estates Development Co.
In February, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court entered a $775,985 judgment against Kalinowski and his sister-in-law Karen Kalinowski, according to court documents.
Social media, including Twitter and Facebook was abuzz with the news about the eighth grade teacher, among Framingham students. Students were posting articles from New Mexico on social media sites, after a substitute teacher was in class for Kalinowski. Parents of Cameron students forwarded those links to Framingham Patch on Friday.
Parents must go thru a criminal records check to volunteer in any of the Framingham Public Schools. Teachers must also pass a criminal records (CORI) check. It is unknown whether a background check and references are checked when a teacher is hired.
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