Pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler may be a master of the street course, but he's still a in the ways of the street. According to a press release issued by the Orange County's District Attorney's office, Sheckler's Chief Financial Officer, Matthew Mercuro, 36, was arrested last Friday and charged with embezzling more than $365,000 from the skate star. Mercuro handled two of Sheckler's business units, including Ryan Sheckler Rips LLC and Sheckler Merch 2.

Mercuro allegedly had access to those corporate accounts from March of 2008 to April of 2009, and he's accused of transfering funds into his personal account and the account of his wife and a friend during that period. These actions were only recently discovered when the suspicious transfers were noticed during a review of the company's finances.

If convicted, Mercuro faces up to six years and eight months in prison. He will be arraigned today on two felony counts of grand theft. While the skate community was reeling on the news, pro athletes being victims of embezzlement is hardly a new phenomenon. They're seen as easy targets for this kind of abuse. The big surprise for most skaters is that somebody could hardly notice that much money missing.

Something tells us Sheckler will be alright.

Ryan Sheckler is the defending X Games Street champion, and will be going into this year's X fresh off a Dew Tour win. Although, this does anything but guarantee another gold for the San Clemente, CA skate prodigy, and reality TV star. Before his recent win in Boston, Sheckler had run into some obstacles.

He was once an unstoppable force on the contest circuit. In 2007 Sheckler won all but three events and the overall Dew Tour Championship. Since then he has had a reoccurring elbow injury that may have cost him last year's Maloof. Not to mention, a youngster by the name of Chaz Ortiz, who came out of nowhere to steal some glory, and prevent Sheckler from winning his fifth consecutive Dew Tour.

The Sheck had a disappointing Maloof this year finishing fifth, and he didn't even show for the Thrasher magazine Wallenburg contest, which cost him some cred. Although, he did impress the core skateboarding community a few months earlier when he edged out skate legend, Andrew Reynolds, at the Bust or Bail event, another Thrasher contest. He turned heads with his performance at the sketchy at best, 17 stair rail, that was open to anyone to enter. That's one thing a lot of the Sheckler haters don't realize, the kid can go fucking huge. Jamie Thomas, who is known for going big, and for his attempt at the Leap of Faith (which he did not complete), an ollie over a rail to a two-story drop, claimed in a Thrasher interview earlier this year, he thought Sheckler could do it.

Now, here we are, X Games 15, and Sheckler has shown flickers of brilliance, but hasn't fully turned on the light. He has tons of distractions with corporate sponsors, TV producers, annoying reporters and a harem of screaming girls pulling him in all sort of directions. If he can use his new confidence boost after winning in Boston, and keep his head free from non-skateboarding people, he can by all means make it two in a row.

Here's my favorite Sheckler performance from the Thrasher magazine Bust or Bail contest:

1. The puking frenzy (seen above, demonstrated by Adam Dyet). For some reason everyone was throwing up. I had a five count on the number of times Torey Pudwell spewed during one of his runs. And after Adam Dyet stuck his kickflip back tail, which would later win him 10K for Best Trick, he ran off the course to water the grass with the contents of his stomach. I think the phenomenon had something to do with the heat, the alcohol being consumed everywhere and the fact that Carl's Jr catered the event.

2. The girls. Skate contests usually lack a decent supply of hot chicks. The only girls that are usually there are jail bait, lets face it there aren't too many adult women that are into skateboarding. It's not like surfing where they get to go to the beach. This year though, the Maloofs brought the vageen to skateboarding. I don't know if they shipped them in from Vegas or what, but I do have a hunch...The money. There's usually one thing that follows money more than anything.

3. Dennis Busenitz and Tony Trujillo. These two guys skate so fast, and just make the craziest lines, it's fucking rad to watch.

4. Smolik's tre flip to fakie on the bank section of the mega-vert, that nearly went down. While everyone was watching the Street contest, Smolik was trying it over and over. He just about had it, when the contest staff kicked him off because he didn't sign the waiver, since he wasn't in the contest.

5. The course. Just like last year it was insane. The Maloofs do a great job of letting skateboarders like Geoff Rowley design it.

6. Lizard King, Adam Dyet, Tommy Sandoval, David Gonzalez, Corey Duffel and Ryan Sheckler going huge. Lizard just about had a backside flip over the big rail, which Geoff Rowley put up $500 out of his own pocket to see go down. Duffel ollied from the Rincon rail area, over the biggest fucking gap. Tommy was getting close to a backsde 50-50 across the big wall to drop-in into the Brooklyn Banks area.

7. Torey Pudwill turning skateboard industry heads. The 19-year-old made it apparent he's one of the next big things. He finished 4th, and the talk amongst the riders afterward was he was robbed.

8. Being able to enter the fair through the back area, and not be searched. Allowing me to bring a backpack full of beer, because as you may know, everyday at the OC Fair is $9 beer day.

9. Not hearing a single Michael Jackson song. I'm so fucking tired hearing MJ songs everywhere I go. Nothing against him, but everything against all the DJs that go for the cheap hype by playing them.

10. Having my backpack stolen from the rider and industry area, when I went to shoot some photos, there's always a creeper. Congratulations asshole, you got a sweaty pair of cut jeans, a really sweaty Deathwish shirt, 3 Pabst tall cans and a backpack that has gotten pretty creepy. You better wash that thing out. It was a Volcom backpack with Mark Appleyard's art on it. If you have have it and didn't steal it, it's mine email me at tmorin@grindtv.com.