A former California official pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal more than $1.5 million of water, but the decadeslong water heist case still has more questions than answers. The US attorney said Falaschi was responsible for stealing somewhere between $1.5 million and $3.5 million worth of water. Falaschi's plea agreement claims he's responsible for stealing only a fraction of the original $25 million prosecutors accused him of taking in the original indictment. The plea agreement also said Falaschi was one of several people involved in the misconduct and that he was unaware of the full extent of the misconduct. Of the water Falaschi took, the plea agreement said almost all of it was taken to "blend down and reuse drainage water, which helped protect farmland and improve water quality in the San Joaquin River."

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Persons: Dennis Falaschi, Falaschi, should've, Robin Hood, he's Organizations: Service, US, Eastern, Eastern District of, Business, Prosecutors, Los Angeles Times, Times Locations: California, Fresno, Merced Counties, Eastern District, Eastern District of California, San Joaquin