Mistrial declared in Los Angeles textbook-purchasing case

A mistrial has been declared in a criminal case against a former Los Angeles Unified School District math teacher who prosecutors say conned the district into placing a $3.7 million order to buy math textbooks he wrote. After deliberating for eight days, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The panel voted 11 to 1 in favor of acquitting Matthias Vheru, 53. The U.S. attorney's office has until March 23 to decide whether to retry Vheru. Prosecutors allege that Vheru defrauded L.A. Unified in 2004 while interim director of mathematics. He persuaded the district to purchase about 45,000 copies of an algebra book he wrote. Prosecutors also contend that Vheru did not tell the district of his financial interest in the transaction. As a result of the district's purchase, Vheru received about $930,000. Vheru's attorney asserts that his client obtained the proper approval from both the mathematics department and the accounting office before placing the purchase order. Disclosing royalties on book sales was not part of L.A. Unified's policy, his attorney says.

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