Ritter: Money misused
2006 campaign manager wrote checks to himself
Chris Barge and Alan Gathright
Published April 15, 2008 at 2:35 p.m.
Updated April 16, 2008 at 6:40 a.m.
Gov. Bill Ritter said he placed "a lot of trust" in Kolomitz.
Greg Kolomitz will "continue to cooperate" to resolve this.
Gov. Bill Ritter spent two weekends after his inauguration traveling the state by plane, train and automobile, thanking all those who had helped put him in office.
He paid for his ticker-tape tour with $1.1 million donated by supporters in the two months after his election. The man he entrusted with handling that money was Greg Kolomitz, his campaign manager.
On Tuesday, Ritter disclosed that Kolomitz wrote unauthorized checks from the inaugural fund to himself worth $83,250 over the course of Ritter's first year in office.
Kolomitz also wrote checks totalling $217,164.56 to pay 28 vendors, which Ritter said violated campaign finance law because money donated for the inauguration was used to cover campaign expenses.
"Obviously, I am extremely disappointed in this," Ritter said. "I placed a lot of trust in Greg and our relationship was such that it always led me to believe that was appropriate."
Ritters' deed backs loan
Kolomitz repaid the $83,000 to the inaugural account Monday, Ritter said, adding that the matter has been turned over to the Denver District Attorney's office and the Colorado Attorney General for their review and potential investigation.
The governor said that he and his wife, Jeannie Ritter, have put up the deed to their Denver home to back a $200,000 loan to repay the campaign expenses that Kolomitz improperly paid with inaugural funds. The vendors are individually being asked, in turn, to refund the money Kolomitz paid them to the inaugural account.
Ritter said he will be raising money from supporters after the legislative session ends to pay back his personal loan. Campaign finance documents released Tuesday by his office show his campaign fund raised $30,195 in donations during the first quarter of this year.
Ritter said he has permanently cut professional ties with Kolomitz, who was recently acting as the governor's volunteer liaison to the Democratic National Convention's host committee.
"I worked with Gov. Ritter for a year and some and have the utmost respect for him personally and professionally and I wouldn't do anything to hurt him or his administration," Kolomitz said. "I'll continue to cooperate with the governor's office to resolve this fully. I continue to support him and his administration and to the extent that I've hurt him and his administration I humbly apologize."
According to an audit of the inaugural account released by Ritter Tuesday, Kolomitz wrote 27 unauthorized checks to himself, his consulting firm, and one of his employees between Dec. 27, 2006 and Oct. 24, 2007. In all, the checks total $83,250.
Kolomitz wrote most of those checks directly to himself. Ritter deputy campaign manager Sheila MacDonald, who is also Kolomitz's business partner, got $7,000. And Kolomitz wrote about $30,000 in checks to his consulting firm, Solutions West.
Most of those payments were described in the audit as fees for "consulting services." However, Kolomitz was never authorized to be paid for such services beyond the $180,000 salary he received as campaign manager and then as manager of the inauguration, Ritter's spokesman Evan Dreyer said.
"There was no agreement that he be paid for anything," Dreyer said.
Ritter said his office did not have the first hint of what Kolomitz was up to until early February of this year, when inaugural committee accountant Bob Fowler began preparing the Form 990 for the IRS, due Feb. 15.
On Feb. 11, Fowler asked Ritter's legal counsel Trey Rogers to help him obtain the documents he needed to fill out the form. Rogers in turn called Kolomitz and asked him to provide all documents to Fowler.
Check copies from bank
Kolomitz didn't get the documents in on time, so Fowler filed for and received a six-month filing extension.
By Feb. 25, Rogers, growing impatient with the delay, called First Bank to request copies of the checks and statements that Kolomitz had not provided. Four days later, the bank provided those, and on March 3, Ritter asked attorney Jim Lyons to oversee a review of the inaugural account.
Lyons retained the accounting firm of Patten, MacPhee and Associates, which plowed into the records.
Soon, Ritter knew he needed to take out the $200,000 loan against his house, which he did on March 31.
Kolomitz said Ritter's representatives met with him "about 10 days ago" and asked him to pay back the $83,250. "When the issue of those payments was raised by his office I immediately and unconditionally volunteered to return the funds," Kolomitz said.
Ritter released the audit publicly on Tuesday along with his campaign finance report for the first quarter of this year, which reflects the $200,000 loan.
A government watchdog group said the murky money mess calls for tightening lax oversight.
"We don't have a problem with celebrating an inauguration, but we do have concerns there's unlimited funds being raised that aren't subject to our campaign finance disclosure laws," said Elena Nunez, program director for Colorado Common Cause.
Stricter disclosure is especially key when one person has control, she said. "The same person who was managing the campaign was managing the inauguration," Nunez said.
What's next
* The Denver district attorney, Colorado attorney general and secretary of state will review documentation provided by the Ritter administration. Denver DA Mitch Morrissey, after examining the records, is expected to refer the case to prosecutors in another jurisdiction to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest. Ritter was formerly the Denver DA.
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April 15, 2008
2:42 p.m.
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rickg19611 writes:
Typical Democrat. How does someone "accidentally" overpay himself by $83,000???
Sounds like another lie that Ritter and cronies are trying to get people to swallow. The only ones stupid enough to believe that someone would accidentally overpay themself by $83,000 are moron Democrats that will believe anything.
April 15, 2008
2:48 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
Oops!!!! Forgot to carry the 1 or subtract instead of add or something. Nothing to see here! Keep moving along...
April 15, 2008
3:09 p.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
It smacks of the same stuff as union cronyism. See what they're doing in Denver City Councill & imagine what they'll do to the whole state if given the opportunity.
April 15, 2008
3:19 p.m.
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bkerickson writes:
Where in the article does it say that the overpayment was an accident? What I read is that this guy overpaid himself, got caught and repaid the money. It also says that the authorities were notified.
April 15, 2008
3:23 p.m.
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MikeaLoeb writes:
I'm shocked. Next you are going to tell me that organized labor is crooked too.
April 15, 2008
3:25 p.m.
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ladida writes:
yeah, right...oops, where did that extra $83k in my checking account come from????
April 15, 2008
3:37 p.m.
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holekeeper writes:
Hi I worked for a large company and this sounds a lot like embezzlement not "overpayment".
He will get a plea bargan to petty theft
April 15, 2008
4:37 p.m.
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BikerChick writes:
..
"Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."
When folks like King Ritter, Prince Hick and their friends get caught with their tiny little hands in the cookie jar... the message is clear; there MUST be a competent, INDEPENDENT forensic audit of the behaviors and finances of King Ritter and his minions. Yes, BEHAVIORS.
The PROCESS must be totally independent. There are certified FORENSIC auditors who specialize in potentially criminal situations.
The Colorado General Assembly can hire the INDEPENDENT auditor, but the progressive majority will want to get their grubby hands in the mix to steer the results.
Perhaps the Colorado Attorney General will hire an INDEPENDENT forensic auditor, to report upon the behaviors and finances of King Ritter ?
Probably not; We-the-People don't deserve to know the truth, right ? After all, the DNC Coronation will happen soon, and we don't want to mess up that delightful affair.
God forbid that things like the reckless gang-banger activities and rampant criminal aliens nonsense might be truthfully reported. Quelle domage.
It is certainly not true that seven people were shot in Denver on Halloween night 2007, right ? If that were true, our truthful media would have published the truth, no matter what the Chamber of Commerce says, right ?
WRONG ! What we have here is rampant, broad-based political skullduggery on a grand scale. Nero is fiddling around while Colorado burns.
Watch carefully to see who does their best to whitewash this comment... then, follow the money.
..
April 15, 2008
4:49 p.m.
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joeblow writes:
Damn! The irresponsible Democratis. Hell, do they think they're Jack Abramoff or something!
April 15, 2008
4:49 p.m.
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holekeeper writes:
Bikerchick,
Well put. But now you must watch outRitter will get a warrent to get your isp from the news, then a warrent from you isp for you home address, then an arrest warrent for inciting a riot, then we will have to blog when you go to trial. and there have been 60+ blogs on the carmelo anthony dui arrest....what a state.
April 15, 2008
5:07 p.m.
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holekeeper writes:
He looks like a fat Harry Potter......sorry your math magic didnt work dumba*%
April 15, 2008
7:13 p.m.
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TW writes:
So what will Kolomitz be charged with, "agricultural trespass"?
I agree with the person who stated that Ritter should pay back Cory Voorhis for his legal expenses while he is at it and defray the cost of his star chamber selective prosecution. Don't forget that Morrissey's office did exactly what Cory Voorhis did when they provided the same information to Ritter's campaign and were never prosecuted.
As to Democrats vs. Republicans - who cares? They are just two sides of the same coin. As Kurt Vonnegut so astutely noted, "the two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don't acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead."
April 15, 2008
8:58 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Kolomitz might think he can get away with this kind of embezzlement but he's wrong. Democrats obviously won't tolerate it.
Bet he's wishing he'd got a job with the Republicans where they accept and encourage this kind of theft.
April 15, 2008
10:48 p.m.
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ES writes:
there should be an outside investigation. He pretty much used that money as a loan during the campaign. An advantage that his competitor did not have.
They will do nothing about this. The story will disappear. The article is about a Democrat breaking the law. The press will report then hide it. It will go away.
Typical Democrat. Break the law. Then say the other side is worst. This is Embezzlement in the worst way. Just painted with nice phrases. RMN did not dig. RMN did not push any information. If this was a republican this would hang around for 4 years.
April 16, 2008
12:38 a.m.
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clyde writes:
It seems this letter and it's content has been edited. Is this an example of historical revision???
April 16, 2008
12:51 a.m.
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joggle writes:
ES: This is pretty breaking news, what do you expect from RMN in their first report? I really don't think this will be the last we hear of this case.
"Typical Democrat. Break the law." As opposed to typical Republican breaking the law? There's bad apples everywhere and there were plenty of Republicans during the last few years who were busted for some pretty major embezzling and other financial corruption--several of whom were elected officials such as senators (that makes this look rather puny in comparison). Doesn't make most Republican politicians criminals any more than it makes most Democrat politicians criminals.
If Ritter is telling the truth then I really don't see what more he could have done after what Kolomitz did. With 20-20 hindsight he shouldn't have trusted him in the first place (which is certainly easier said than done). If you haven't met a con man in your life, wait for it. You'll find that some of them are pretty good at their trade and fiendishly clever.
April 16, 2008
1:08 a.m.
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clyde writes:
Con men??? Yup, most politicians. If you think any of them are honest, you've been had. We have the best politicians money can buy.
April 16, 2008
4:15 a.m.
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roger44 writes:
Ritter wants supporters to help repay his loans? At what point do these people get smart and say "No more?"
April 16, 2008
6:50 a.m.
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vudumom writes:
Why should the vendors be asked to repay the amount they were paid for their services? They had no idea that their checks came from which fund. They had nothing to do with that. That is all on Kolomitz and Ritter. So Ritter takes out a loan to fix his mess and wants campaign contibutions to repay the loan for him? i gues the Unions will be getting a call this week.
April 16, 2008
6:55 a.m.
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polyglot writes:
Stand strong Greg - some of us know that you are being thrown under the bus on this one. Too bad Ritter is not half as loyal as you.
April 16, 2008
7:11 a.m.
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holekeeper writes:
We are missing the big picture. this man used to be the Denver DA. I cant say I fully blame him but if he is so above the small things he would have hired someone to watch over his money that didnt have access to the money. Little less that 180,000 to the campain manager and this never would have happened. But no. Demo or rep. this man is a moron. He is stupid and he cant take care of his own house let alone the state. I would have had more respect for him if he had been part of this then we would have at least known and not be made to look dumber Than Paris Hilton
April 16, 2008
7:18 a.m.
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Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:
Slap on the wrist, no doubt. Better get rid of Tabor, have to pay for all of the "perks" somehow.
April 16, 2008
7:22 a.m.
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DeimosJB writes:
Froward, do you even think about what you write when you say "If it were republicans we would not ever have heard of this."? Did you not read the post of your fellow Democrat crony above regarding Jack Abramoff? Have you "heard of" him? For reference, Jack Abramoff pled guilty to 5 felony counts, so yeah, apparently we would "hear about it", and apparently it would be prosecuted, and apparently Republicans are held to a different standard than Democrats.
In Ritter's defense, I came down on him pretty hard yesterday. As the facts continue to come forth, Ritter may have been guilty of nothing more than poor judgment in partners, but someone in this case is guilty of a lot more, and someone deserves to be convicted. Here’s hoping there’s enough justice left in the state to bring forth said conviction.
April 16, 2008
7:23 a.m.
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holekeeper writes:
Buying a governor $83,000
Buying A Mayor $0.25
Labor unions running the state Priceless
and for everyone else there is the State issued Master Card
April 16, 2008
7:42 a.m.
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Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:
You people that think Republican politicians are less susceptible to sin than Democrat politicians are idiots. Vice versa. THEY ARE ALL POLITICIANS! The best thing we the citizen can do is give them less money and less power. Politicians and bureaucrats from both sides of the isle are PIGS!
April 16, 2008
7:53 a.m.
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Sprite writes:
All that's missing from this story is Evan Dryer stating that Kolomitz is a "criminal."
April 16, 2008
8:12 a.m.
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windbourne writes:
wow; if this would have include a 3 million payment to himself and ritter had lied about this, he would be considered a good republican.
April 16, 2008
8:19 a.m.
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holekeeper writes:
I think this is dumd, Ritter is a lawyer he should know about loopholes
April 16, 2008
8:33 a.m.
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polyglot writes:
I don't understand why Ritter needs to use his house as collateral. He should have used Ken Salazar's banker or even Strickland's - nothing says you've made it like a million dollar unsecured loan
April 16, 2008
8:34 a.m.
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Scott writes:
holekeeper: That's the whole issue, ritter is a lawyer, hence a prostitute. He will assume ANY position for the price of being elected.
Lowtax=: You are dead on right. Politicians = Scum regardless of the political party. Also, Lawyers = Prostitutes regardless of their political party.
Scott
April 16, 2008
8:35 a.m.
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bobbyb writes:
Ritter should do the honorable thing and resign.
April 16, 2008
8:58 a.m.
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Scott writes:
Let's see, ritter was the Denver prostitute (District Attorney) and this whole mess has been turned over to the current Denver prostitute and state prostitute (Attorney General). Naw, there won't be any "hey-good-buddy-ol-pal". These are lawyers, they have a very high ethical standard, NOT! The only thing lower than a lawyer is a lawyer/politician.
Scott
April 16, 2008
9:02 a.m.
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rickg19611 writes:
Ritter is turning out to be the most corrupt and tainted governor in state history. Every month, a new scandal erupts.
Even with his assistance from the media to try to coverup his sleazy deals to protect criminals from prosecution for their crimes, and aid from former cronies to attack anyone who reveals those backroom deals, he still has to deal with new scandals every few weeks.
April 16, 2008
9:02 a.m.
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Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:
Hi Scott,
You read the online post and you get the impression that the average person thinks to himself, “If I could just pick the right team, I will be a winner". The sad part is the fix is in. When playing politics you will never pick a winner.
The less money and power we give these politicians the less damage they can do.
April 16, 2008
9:26 a.m.
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psu96 writes:
call the waaaaambulance
April 16, 2008
10:38 a.m.
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samsmargolis writes:
Good, strategic timing of the release of information out of Ritter's office under the cover of wildland fires and deaths elsewhere in the state. Takes this administration's "irregularities" right off the front page. The good news is, he'll be able to meet his lying counterpart here in August. You know, Mr. "I don't accept lobbyist Money" Obama. Birds of a feather....
By the way, why isn't the RMN running the stories about Obama's campaign and the contributions of lobbyists like the other papers? Oh, that's right. You're Obama's apologists and rationalists...sorry. I forgot.
April 16, 2008
10:44 a.m.
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redwhiteandBLUE writes:
You mean there's corruption in the Ritters camp ? I do say!
Karma, I'd say! Cory Voorhis didn't deserve what he got.
April 16, 2008
12:09 p.m.
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davies writes:
Of all the deluded comments and partisan rationalizing, this one stands out the most:
"Stand strong Greg - some of us know that you are being thrown under the bus on this one. Too bad Ritter is not half as loyal as you."
The man made no case whatsoever that he deserved those payments. He himself said that when the issue was raised: "I immediately and unconditionally volunteered to return the funds."
He threw his reputation under the bus when he stole the money.
April 16, 2008
3:56 p.m.
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Newenergycommie writes:
Maybe this is Ritter's plan to ease over crowding in Canyon City. Let the thieves say "Oops my bad" and return the money.
April 16, 2008
10:19 p.m.
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GetReal writes:
Don't you just love how Ritter spins stolen money as being "misused", and how the Rocky chose to use this misleading description in it's headline?
And how about the sympathetic sister story titled, "So out of character, friends can't explain"?
I must have missed any similar stories providing cover for Republicans caught up in scandals .
It reminds me of the coverage of ranking Dem Michael Garcia and his whip it out indecent exposure story the RMN did its best to reluctantly report, make excuses for, and then bury.
Watch for the same treatment here.
April 17, 2008
1:19 a.m.
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rdamurphy writes:
Hmm, sounds like the Dems have another Spitzer on their hands! I guess it's hard to keep things on the up and up when you buy an election...