CITY JANITOR JAILED IN THEFT.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A long-time city maintenance worker was arrested at dawn Thursday, accused of stealing cash over several months while cleaning the offices of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, located in City Hall.

Pasqual Ambriz Ramirez, 58, of Northridge was being held on $20,000 bail after his arrest on suspicion of burglary. He is due to be arraigned Monday.

Not disclosing how much money had been reported missing, sheriff's, city and chamber officials noted that investigators were still determining whether other tenants in the Santa Clarita City Hall building had been burglarized.

``Over the last couple of weeks, it's been taken in amounts from $5 to $100 on several occasions,'' said Larry Mankin, the chamber's president and chief executive officer. ``It's really too bad.''

Mankin told his staff early Thursday of Ramirez's arrest, and several employees were in tears, he said.

``We're all distraught,'' he said.

Ramirez, a general maintenance worker for the city for 12 years, was among city employees who worked under contract to clean tenants' offices in City Hall, city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said. City offices use most of the building, but the chamber, some medical offices and other businesses rent space.

Various amounts of cash began vanishing from locked compartments in June, said Mankin, noting the money had been well hidden. Locks were changed, but the thefts continued.

``It was a very serious breach of trust in our relationship,'' Mankin said. ``We've been violated for some length of time. I just sat down with my staff ... and I said each one of us was a potential suspect. This has been weighing very heavily for us.''

At 6:14 a.m., Ramirez was arrested in the chamber office, officials said. He was jailed at the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station.

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com