Former Seattle Public Utility employee Chau Phan, 44, was arrested yesterday for

Former Seattle Public Utility employee Chau Phan, 44, was arrested yesterday for allegedly transferring public utility money from water main projects to his own bank account, then blowing the money. The Seattle Police Department says the money had been re-routed over the course of five years. SPD say Phan allegedly stole more than $1 million dollars.Seattle Public Utilities had been auditing a decade of internal financial data over the past year when they discovered the missing million. Seattle police have been working with SPU investigators for several months on this case. The Phan probe came out of another investigation into employees crediting their own utility bills. SPU has fired Phan and four other employees and suspended another since November, 2010. SPU Director Ray Hoffman said “We are committed to protecting every penny of our ratepayers’ money. The legal process still needs to determine the guilt or innocence of this individual, but obviously this kind of alleged misconduct is unacceptable and reprehensible.”A bail hearing for Chau Phan is scheduled for this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in courtroom 1 of the King County Jail.