Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
San Miguel Basin Forum
Nucla , Colorado
HOME Browse Search List Of All Titles New! Global Image Search
Free Search  Subscribe  Sign In
July 22, 1999     San Miguel Basin Forum
PAGE 3     (3 of 16 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
© San Miguel Basin Forum. All rights reserved.     Upgrade to access Premium Tools
 
PAGE 3     (3 of 16 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
July 22, 1999
 
Newspaper Archive of San Miguel Basin Forum produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




................ San Mignel qBasin Forum, Thursday; July 22.1999 - 3 According to the Montrose Daily Press, former Montrose County Sheriff Gene Hill plead- ed no contest .-last week~ to that he used a county ci,, /card while in office to .steal less than $|00 in public funds. Judge David Johnston ordered Hill to pay $138 in court costs and reimburse the county $96.06 for the credit card purchase. No jail sentence was imposed. Hill told Johnston it would take about a month to come up with the money to pay court costs and the credit card reim- bursement. Johnston placed Hill on six months probation until the money is paid. Hill could have faced a six month jail sentence or a $750 fine for the misdemeanor theft charge. Lou Mehlig, a Montrose attorney who represented Hill, asked Johnston for leniency because of Hill's 30-year law enforcement career that also included a stint with the Montrose Police Department. "As a career law enforce- ment officer he should receive some consideration for doing that type of work without realiz- ing the monetary benefits," Mehlig said. Hill declined to comment following the court proceed- ings. The charge against Hill stemmed from an investigation (USPS 573-600) Roger Culver Editor/Publisher Susan White Reporter/Photographer Karen Murphy Advertising Lolly Ross Advertising Published every Thursday by Roger Culver, Publisher/ Editor, at 807 Main, Nucla, CO. Subscription rate is $20 per year in San Miguel and Montrose Counties, and $28 per year outside of those ,counties. Periodical postage is paid at Nucla, CO. Postmaster: Send address changes to San Miguel Basin Forum, P.O. Box 9, Nucla, CO 81424. into alleged misconduct within the Montrose County Sheriff's Offit~e by District Attorney Wyatt Angelo that began in July 1998. Hill lost his bid for re- election in November 1998 to challenger Warren Waterman. Allegations against Hill and other MCSO officials were first made public in June 1.998 by Montrose private investigator Ivan Buchanan.. A complaint filed by him in Montrose County Court alleges between Dee. 31, 1997 and Jan. 20, 1998 Hill "unlawfully and knowingly" committed theft by using a Montrose Countycredit card for "personal gain." The complaint also alleges Hill reported the use of the card as, "official business" for the payment of a training seminar. The complaint does not pro- vide additional details about the seminar. However, county records obtained by the Daily Press show that Hill billed $96.06 to a county credit card for a meal and one night's stay at the Best WeStern Executive Hotel in Denver on Dec. 31, 1997 so he could attend a training meeting: The voucher does not pro- vide any details about the meet- ing or which law enforcement agency sponsored a seminar on New Year's Eve. Mehlig said Hill checked into the hotel after being snowed in Denver following a trap to Texas. Hill's failure to reimburse the+ county for the room and meal was an oversight and uninten- tional, said Mehlig. In the past Hill had reimbursed the c unty whenever he had used the credit card for personal purposes, said Mehlig. In addition to the alleged theft committed by Hill, Angelo's investigation also Uncovered allegations of embez- zlement, employee intimidation, lost evidence, travel fund abuses and sloppy management prac- tices within the MCSO. Hill is the second MCSO official to face charges stem- ming from the probe.. Former Undersheriff Brian Black has been charged with 19 felony counts for alleged theft and embezzlement of public proper- ty. The alleged thefts and embezzlements occurred between q995 and 1998 and ranged between $500 and $15,000, according to court records. Black resigned from the MCSO before Angelo's investi- gation began. He is'scheduled to receive a preliminary hearing in Montrose County Court on Aug. 5. 1190 Grand Ave. • NorwoOd Oualltw Hancle-On Chiropractic Care Phvslcal Therapv and Rehabilitation 12 Income Producing Property RV Park with 2 commercial buildings and 3 mobile homes. 17 spaces, zoned'?. commercial, property tax.S1,200. Across from US Post Office on Main ! Street Naturita, CO HWY 145. Seller financing may be available. Country Family Home A peOrectfarai~ setting~ acro~ the river from the proposed golf course. Great winter climate. Halfway between Telluride and Moab. 1344 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and t.5 bath. Lot size is 5 acres, located ~t 25883 W. Hwy. Nat,arita, Colorado. Utilities include Electricity, sewer. Extras on this property are For more information on buying or selling mesa, valley, or ranch property please call Alice at 970-327-4728 evening or weekends, and office week 970-728-4000. Fax 970-327-4294 or 970-728-4483. P.O. Box 457, 333 W. Colorado Ave.Telluride, CO. 81435 • ~,o~O Alice Fae Brown Broker Assoc.