Larry Carillo, former Larimer County Republican Party Chairman, has been charged with felony theft for allegedly embezzling thousands of dollars in GOP funds. An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for Carillo, who allegedly used the stolen money to cover personal gambling debts as well as pay telephone and cable bills.
SECOND UPDATE:
According to a waiver request from the party treasurer, the Larimer County Republican Party believes it shouldn't be responsible for campaign finance fines because it has been victimized by Carillo. The Larimer County GOP faces in excess of $65,000 in fines after failing to file any campaign finance reports in 2010.
EARLIER:
Larry Carillo, former Larimer County GOP chairman, turned himself in to Glendale police at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night, according to The Denver Post.
He is accused of stealing nearly $18,000 dollars from the Republican Party to pay off personal debts. A warrant for Carillo's arrest was issued Tuesday.
Steve Miller, Larimer County's GOP assessor and treasurer, made this statement to The Denver Post about the accusations:
We started going through receipts and piecing things together because there was no accounting done in the two years Carillo was in office. There was a lot of stuff that just didn't make sense.
Between 2009-2010, Carillo was party chairman and resigned when other local GOP officials confronted him for not filing any of the required finance reports in 2010, The Denver Post reports.
Carillo is charged with a fourth-degree felony, theft between $1,000 and $20,000, which could put Carillo in prison for up to four years and fined up to $500,000. The Coloradoan goes on to report that the Republican party is facing up to $65,000 in potential fines from the secretary of state for Carillo's delinquent financial filings.