Madera supervisor candidate has history of criminal, legal troubles spanning 25 years
Public court records chronicle a history of legal troubles and a criminal conviction by a candidate running for a seat on the Madera County Board of Supervisors.
Charles “Brook” Allen, 48, was previously incarcerated for vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence in his early 20s and is currently a defendant in two court cases regarding his businesses, one of which involves a misdemeanor charge
In addition, a restraining order was placed on Allen by his ex-wife in 2008 amid a tumultuous, years-long divorce. She and their son, whom Allen eventually lost custody of, stayed in a shelter for domestic violence victims, according to divorce records.
In an interview with The Bee, Allen described his past as a series of painful failures and life lessons that shaped him. He said his checkered history shouldn’t disqualify him from public office, but rather make him a more qualified candidate.
“Really, the only way to learn is misstep,” Allen said. “I’ve got a lot of missteps, surely, but every one I learned from and worked to be better.”
Allen is running in the June primary election for the District 5 seat that represents a sprawling portion of eastern Madera County, including Tesoro Viejo, Oakhurst, Coarsegold and other foothill communities. He has won an endorsement from the seat’s former holder, Tom Wheeler.
Allen has served as a trustee on the Yosemite Unified school board since 2022. His term is set to expire at the end of 2026. He said his priorities include improving roads and fire safety, and supporting small businesses and economic development.
If elected, Allen said he aims to address the rising cost of living that has deterred young adults from the area. He said he would propose an ordinance similar to Mariposa County’s newly adopted Title 25 building code to create more affordable housing. The code allows owners in certain rural areas to build homes that are not fully compliant with California Building Code standards.
“Regulations are meant to protect people’s rights, but when those regulations start trampling upon people’s rights, that’s when we know we’ve gone too far,” Allen said. “It has to be a balance.”
Also running in the District 5 race are Frank Bigelow, a former supervisor and state assemblyman, Melanie “Mel” Barker, a Navy veteran and local business owner, and Mark Reed, a small businessman and rancher.
Allen arrested for vehicular manslaughter at age 21
Allen’s criminal record dates back to 2000, when he veered off a road in Alpine County near the Nevada border while driving under the influence, striking a woman who was standing next to her vehicle, according to California Highway Patrol. The victim, Frances Brooks, a 61-year-old retired school teacher, later died at a nearby hospital.
Allen was 21 years old at the time of the crash. He said he broke his pelvis, and two passengers in Allen’s vehicle reportedly suffered minor injuries, the Reno Gazette Journal reported in a 2000 article.
The Alpine County District Attorney’s Office charged Allen with second-degree murder, felony driving under the influence and causing bodily injury and felony driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher.
Allen entered a no-contest plea to a four-year sentence and spent 30 months incarcerated at the Jamestown and Miramonte fire camps. The minimum-security facilities are operated jointly by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Cal Fire to train inmates who work on fire crews supporting emergency responses.
After Allen got out of fire camp, he didn’t feel as though his debt had been paid, he said.
“Miss Francis Brooks was a retired school teacher with no children of her own, so I thought it’d be fitting to somehow continue her legacy and education,” Allen said.
He began mentoring students at his auto shop. He said that once a relationship was built with the kids, they would often ask him questions about his life.
“I spoke truth of my foolishness, because I truly believe it was important to help somebody else avoid the same mistake I made,” he said. “The advice was, before you do something foolish, just five more seconds of thought could go a long way.”
Allen’s ex-wife and son stayed in shelter for domestic violence victims
Allen was involved in a years-long divorce with his ex-wife, Dianna Del Bianco, who accused Allen of emotional and verbal abuse in divorce court records filed in Madera County Superior Court.
In 2008, Del Bianco and Allen’s young son stayed at a shelter for domestic violence victims in Stanislaus County. During their stay, Del Bianco acquired a restraining order against Allen, who was 30 at the time, that remained in effect for five years.
According to divorce files obtained by The Bee, Del Bianco described incidents in which Allen yelled and cursed at her in front of their 2-year-old son.
Allen had become increasingly more verbally and emotionally abusive throughout their relationship and had pushed her, Del Bianco said in the letter.
Del Bianco accused Allen in her letter of taking away her car keys and cell phone when mad and threatening to take their son away if she were to ever leave him. Del Bianco wrote that Allen did not allow her access to their bank account and was extremely controlling of household money, which was also noted in records by the family’s therapist.
“Charles gets in my face and yells at me,” Del Bianco said in the letter. “Charles tells me that if I listened to him, he wouldn’t have to get mad at me. Charles calls me names like ‘f------ b----,’ and ‘worthless piece of s---.’ Charles throws things while he is yelling at me.”
Attached to Del Bianco’s request for the restraining order was a letter from their family therapist, Vincent DeFrank, expressing concern for the safety of Del Bianco and her son.
“Over the past several months the sessions that involved Mr. Allen were disruptive as a result of Mr. Allen severe temper outbursts which resulted in Mr. Allen storming from the office,” DeFrank said in the letter.
The divorce files included a different letter from the director of the Madera County Behavioral Clinic, dated shortly after Del Bianco was admitted to the Stanislaus shelter.
It said that staff worked to relocate Del Bianco to a shelter outside of Madera County after it became clear through therapy sessions that it was “imperative” for the safety of her and her son that their location be undisclosed, “due to the escalating danger level for you and your child, posed by your husband.”
Del Bianco declined to comment on her and Allen’s divorce.
Court records show, and Allen confirmed, that he and Del Bianco lived together again for a few years after her stay in the shelter before the divorce was finalized.
Allen acknowledged that he made some poor decisions in his relationship with Del Bianco, but insisted that it never became physical.
“Women have tons and tons and tons of rights,” Allen said. “They just have to say something, and then I have zero rights, and it doesn’t matter.”
Once the divorce was officially finalized in 2012, Allen said he stayed at a friend’s place, where he remained angry about the situation.
He remembers clearly when the friend’s wife leaned over and whispered in his ear: “Being angry and mad is like you taking poison and expecting it to hurt somebody else.”
“That’s the moment that I claim to finally become a grown adult man,” he said. “I was 36, and you know, it’s amazing what releasing all of that anger does for you, how you can refocus and really start to do good things.”
Allen said he has not seen his son, who is now in his early 20s, in about two years.
Allen’s businesses face legal scrutiny
On top of being a school board trustee, Allen is the long-time owner of two businesses: Lepley Trees, a tree service company, and The Rusty Piston, an auto repair shop.
Previously, the two companies operated as separate entities under Rusty Piston Inc., which was suspended by the California Franchise Tax Board in 2021 for failure to file and pay.
Lepley Trees was subcontracting for another large tree company before the latter backed out of the deal without paying Lepley Trees for eight months of work, Allen said.
“We scratched up the money to make payroll, but only payroll for the guys, not payroll taxes,” Allen said. “It’s a twisted deal, because even though we didn’t get paid, we still got a (payroll taxes) bill. And that was the dark cloud that was hung over our heads.”
As of mid-April 2026, the total balance due for Rusty Piston Inc. was $17,548, according to Andrew LePage, a spokesperson for the Franchise Tax Board.
The suspension led Allen to form separate LLCs for the tree and mechanic businesses with an employee 10% ownership structure across the two companies. So, everyone involved receives a K-1 tax form, which differs from the W2 forms received by regular salaried employees.
However, the Rusty Piston and Lepley Trees were not officially filed as separate LLCs until 2025. Allen said he had been working with about seven employees at each business under a verbal agreement regarding the employee ownership structure until the paperwork was finalized in January 2025.
Allen is currently a defendant in a misdemeanor Madera County Criminal Court case for failure to maintain Workman’s Comp Insurance on his businesses. Allen said the case was triggered by an “unhappy ex-employee.” He is filing a motion to dismiss the case.
“It’s a good thing because work comp in the tree world is really expensive,” Allen said of the 10% employee ownership structure. “So now we can afford to pay our guys a lot better, so they’re making way better money.”
Allen is also a defendant in a Madera County Civil Court lawsuit where Lepley Trees is accused of taking down a tree on a property without informed consent. Allen denied the claim and said multiple witnesses can testify the plaintiff wanted the tree taken down.
When asked how he wanted to address his past to voters, Allen quoted Thomas Edison: “Success is nothing but a whole string of failures.”
Allen said he worked hard to overcome challenging life experiences and credits his past for shaping him. He grew up in a financially strained household, raised by a single mother, and said he is familiar with the needs of the communities he seeks to represent on the Madera County Board of Supervisors.
“That’s what makes me special, I have the wisdom and knowledge of many of the people from up there,” Allen said as tears welled in his eyes. “A representative of the people needs to be among the people to be able to make the best decisions for the people.”