Tsutsumi was arrested June 21 and charged with several felony counts, including embezzlement by a public employee, misappropriation of public funds and five tax counts. She has been accused of charging fees for the use of the college tennis courts from 1997 to 2004 and pocketing more than $200,000. Supervising Santa Clara County District Attorney Julius Finkelstein said felony cases like Tsutsumi's can carry stiff prison sentences.

Tsutsumi pleaded not guilty at her arraignment earlier this summer. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 24, at which a judge will determine if there is enough evidence to go forward with a trial.

Sylvano Simone, who runs a private tennis academy at the West Valley College tennis courts, has been subpoenaed and will appear as a witness at the preliminary hearing.

In 1997, Simone started giving private tennis lessons at the college, paying Tsutsumi for his use of the courts. His tennis academy began with a small number of students, but his reputation as a producer of top-notch tennis players grew. Today, the Sylvano Tennis Academy boasts 90 students, many of whom are top players at schools in Saratoga and across the Bay Area.

The West Valley-Mission Board of Trustees approved a contract last April that allowed Simone to continue using the West Valley College tennis courts. But the contract has since been terminated. On Nov. 12, the Sylvano Tennis Academy will no longer be allowed to use the tennis courts at the college.

Ruth Carlson, a public affairs representative for West Valley College, said that the contract was not serving the best interests of the college and had been problematic. A 60-day termination option in the contract was exercised. "It was basically just a simple contract that didn't work out," she said.

For Simone, the termination of his contract has been devastating. His tennis academy is his only source of income and he has yet to secure new courts. "They are trying to wash their hands of me," he said.

Simone says the college is attempting to clean up its public image by distancing itself from him because he had begun using the courts under Tsutsumi. He also accused Jeff Schwartz, a member of the West Valley-Mission Community College board of trustees, of making it a personal mission to get Simone's tennis academy kicked off the campus. Simone said he had confronted Schwartz for hiding in the bushes and filming his students during tennis practice.

It was Schwartz who had initially looked into complaints from Saratoga residents about problems accessing the tennis courts, which had sparked the investigation that led to Tsutsumi's arrest.

Schwartz said he videotaped tennis practices after receiving complaints from people who weren't able to access the courts. He said that his opposition to Simone using the courts was not personal but was based on a belief that private businesses wanting to use the tennis courts should be subject to a competitive bidding process. The termination of Simone's contract was decided by the college administration and not by the board of trustees, he said.

West Valley College President Philip Hartley said that although the board of trustees had initially approved the contract that allowed Simone to continue using the courts, the decision to terminate Simone's contract had nothing to do with the Tsutsumi case or with any kind of vendetta by Schwartz.

"Mr. Simone operates a very successful for-profit tennis academy," Hartley said. "There were problems with following both the letter of the contract and the spirit of the contract. "

Hartley said private tennis instruction is still allowed at the college, but that he made the decision to terminate Simone's contract in order to better serve the needs of the college and the wider community. "This college is very liberal with the community, allowing them to use our facilities," he said.

Simone said that he hopes to get the decision overturned and continue using the tennis courts. "I know I built a business here, but it's for the kids. We produce players. They want to take this away from me."