Fraud or Conspiracy?
Georgetown mayor charged with false report
By Associated Press
GEORGETOWN -- District Attorney Michael Goodbee charged embattled Mayor Koleen Brooks with tampering with evidence and false reporting to authorities on Thursday.
The charges stem from her claim that she was assaulted.
Brooks had told interviewers she expected to be charged and also admitted occasionally smoking marijuana. The charges filed Thursday did not include any drug offenses.
Tampering with evidence is a class six felony punishable by up to 18 months and could include a fine of $100,000. The false reporting charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $750 fine or both.
Brooks, who is facing a recall election, did not immediately return a phone call asking for comment. Because of her close ties to the community, Goodbee said she was issued a summons rather than arrested.
She made the admission of her drug use to The Denver Post and KUSA-TV Wednesday while saying she feared someone may have planted incriminating evidence in her house to wreck her political career.
"I am not a drug user," she said. "I smoke pot. I take one puff once in a great while. If there's anything else there, it's because they put it there, and they're waiting for a felony, so I cannot run for re-election."
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation looked into a report that Brooks was attacked near her home Feb. 16. She said someone attacked her with an object that left her with scratches on her arms and neck.
She claimed investigators didn't take her report seriously and are in cahoots with Georgetown police, with whom she has been at odds.
The former topless dancer was elected in April to a two-year term as mayor of the town of 1,100 about 40 miles west of Denver. Since then, she has been accused of baring her breasts in a local bar, creating a hostile work environment and making unsubstantiated allegations against town officials.
The CBI investigated Brooks last year on allegations she plotted to have a police officer hurt or killed. No charges were filed.
Town Selectman Edwin Tomasi said he thought the revelation about Brooks' drug use was just the latest bit of salaciousness from the media. He said too much has been made, for example, of her past as a stripper.
Still, he said that it wasn't appropriate for a public official to do drugs.
Other residents said they didn't think Brooks' admission was germane to the political debate.
"I don't think marijuana is the issue here," said Norman Franck. "To me, whether she smokes or not is irrelevant."
February 28, 2002 |
