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The Larimer County Republican Party (LCRP) owes an estimated $100,000 in fines to the Colorado Secretary of
State for failing to file dozens of campaign finance reports beginning in 2008. Described by one senior party official as
“gross negligence” he described how Party Chairman Larry Carillo's volunteer Treasurer Terri Fassi accidentally
opened an identical campaign committee on April 7, 2010 when checking the wrong box on a campaign finance
disclosure form. Fassi allowed fines to accumulate by failing to open the mail as more and more additional fine notices
Sources at the Secretary of State's office, however, contest the LCRP's version of events. They claim the LCRP
Treasurer was also notified of the delinquent filings by email. Fassi owns and operates Fassi Financial Network located
at 125 S Howes St. Suite 910 in Ft. Collins and is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CDFA (Certified Divorce
Financial Analyst).
Some close to the matter speculate Carillo was not providing LCRP Treasurer Fassi proper accountings of his
expenditures therefore delaying any reckoning of the numbers in either the party's regular campaign finance committee
or the other opened inadvertently last April.
Congressman Cory Gardner called Carillo last Monday when Gardner's district staff learned of the financial problems
and told Carillo to resign immediately. On February 28, Carillo submitted his resignation to the Larimer County
Republican Executive Committee during a meeting and Devon Lentz, the External Vice-Chair took over as the new
Chairman during the same meeting.
Financial Mismanagement Not A New Problem
Financial mismanagement hit a crescendo last year when the landlord of the LCRP's leased office in Ft. Collins
threatened eviction just to collect unpaid rent that was 3 months behind. Besides back rent the party appears to have
accumulated other debts during Carillo's tenure on top of the estimated $100,000 it now owes the State of Colorado.
Rumors of Carillo not documenting his use of petty cash while withdrawing money from the party's account through an
ATM abounded. Nonetheless, Carillo was easily re-elected to one more term as LCRP Chairman on February 12,
2011 as the Executive Committee members who were aware of his financial mismanagement chose not to inform their
fellow party supporters who attended the Central Committee meeting.
Interim Larimer County Republican Chairman Devon Lentz did notify Precinct Captains and other party officials
through an email of her ascension to Chair this week (see email in column on the right) but again failed to properly
disclose the extent of the financial crisis by saying “there have been certain issues within the LCRP, dealing with
campaign finance reporting and financial management." Besides attempting to downplay the significance of the
campaign finance fines Lentz failed to address any other financial problems the party is now facing in her announcement
of Carillo's resignation.
In an attempt to inform friendly media first, conservative talk show hosts like Amy Oliver (KFKA 1310 AM) were
among the first to be told of Carillo's departure and the fact the party was delinquent in filing campaign finance reports.
It wasn't until Bob Moore of The Coloradoan researched the matter that the full extent of the problem was known to
most Republican party regulars and to members of the Central Committee who just re-elected Carillo.
LovelandPolitics has been informed that Lentz is unlikely to remain long in her new position given dissatisfaction over
how she first hid the crisis as the Vice-Chair. One former Executive Committee Member described Lentz as using a
“bunker mentality” for sitting on the news too long before contacting others. She was also accused of failing to fully
acknowledge the significance of the problem thus fueling even more critical media inquiries by not properly disclosing all
the facts in a timely manner. Off-the-record that same former Executive Committee member told LovelandPolitics,
"For God's sake she has known since last year that Larry ran our finances into the ground and was saying
in private she still wants to preserve his reputation and somehow contain the news."
Trouble Raising Money
Party insiders have indicated to LovelandPolitics they fear a backlash by party contributors who are likely to hold onto
their wallets until a completely new crew is in charge and there is more accountability of how money is spent. One told
LovelandPolitics, "when a ship hits the rocks it may be the Captain's responsibility but that also means an
awful lot of crew failed to do their jobs as well." If the rumors are accurate about Carillo spending party funds
without properly documenting the expenditures, than any subsequent filings that misrepresents how campaign funds
were used could carry criminal offenses for the person signing the filings even if that person was unaware of the true
nature of the expenditures. If Carillo used any funds for personal expenses than he and the party would owe taxes on
that money as well.
Elected as Chairman of the Larimer County Republican Party in February of 2009 (Carillo was 29 at the time) was the
youngest ever elected to that position. Like the Republican Central Committee Executive Board, Carillo served as a
volunteer and dedicated hundreds of hours to the demanding unpaid position. Since being elected Chairman, Carillo
and his wife who is in medical school separated and later he lost his job. Unemployed and single, Carillo was
contemplating a run for Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party ( a paid position) before details of his
mismanagement of Larimer County Republican finances surfaced.
Carillo's political activism started at a young age when he first volunteered with the College Republicans at CSU.
During that time a scandal occurred regarding a rental car expense that later surfaced when he ran for City Council.
Carillo first moved to Northern Colorado to attend CSU and became active in party politics when he served as the
Vice-Chair of the Colorado State University College Republicans. In 2001 Carillo ran for a seat on the Ft. Collins City
Council but was defeated by Marty Tharp.
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State for failing to file dozens of campaign finance reports beginning in 2008. Described by one senior party official as
“gross negligence” he described how Party Chairman Larry Carillo's volunteer Treasurer Terri Fassi accidentally
opened an identical campaign committee on April 7, 2010 when checking the wrong box on a campaign finance
disclosure form. Fassi allowed fines to accumulate by failing to open the mail as more and more additional fine notices
Sources at the Secretary of State's office, however, contest the LCRP's version of events. They claim the LCRP
Treasurer was also notified of the delinquent filings by email. Fassi owns and operates Fassi Financial Network located
at 125 S Howes St. Suite 910 in Ft. Collins and is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CDFA (Certified Divorce
Financial Analyst).
Some close to the matter speculate Carillo was not providing LCRP Treasurer Fassi proper accountings of his
expenditures therefore delaying any reckoning of the numbers in either the party's regular campaign finance committee
or the other opened inadvertently last April.
Congressman Cory Gardner called Carillo last Monday when Gardner's district staff learned of the financial problems
and told Carillo to resign immediately. On February 28, Carillo submitted his resignation to the Larimer County
Republican Executive Committee during a meeting and Devon Lentz, the External Vice-Chair took over as the new
Chairman during the same meeting.
Financial Mismanagement Not A New Problem
Financial mismanagement hit a crescendo last year when the landlord of the LCRP's leased office in Ft. Collins
threatened eviction just to collect unpaid rent that was 3 months behind. Besides back rent the party appears to have
accumulated other debts during Carillo's tenure on top of the estimated $100,000 it now owes the State of Colorado.
Rumors of Carillo not documenting his use of petty cash while withdrawing money from the party's account through an
ATM abounded. Nonetheless, Carillo was easily re-elected to one more term as LCRP Chairman on February 12,
2011 as the Executive Committee members who were aware of his financial mismanagement chose not to inform their
fellow party supporters who attended the Central Committee meeting.
Interim Larimer County Republican Chairman Devon Lentz did notify Precinct Captains and other party officials
through an email of her ascension to Chair this week (see email in column on the right) but again failed to properly
disclose the extent of the financial crisis by saying “there have been certain issues within the LCRP, dealing with
campaign finance reporting and financial management." Besides attempting to downplay the significance of the
campaign finance fines Lentz failed to address any other financial problems the party is now facing in her announcement
of Carillo's resignation.
In an attempt to inform friendly media first, conservative talk show hosts like Amy Oliver (KFKA 1310 AM) were
among the first to be told of Carillo's departure and the fact the party was delinquent in filing campaign finance reports.
It wasn't until Bob Moore of The Coloradoan researched the matter that the full extent of the problem was known to
most Republican party regulars and to members of the Central Committee who just re-elected Carillo.
LovelandPolitics has been informed that Lentz is unlikely to remain long in her new position given dissatisfaction over
how she first hid the crisis as the Vice-Chair. One former Executive Committee Member described Lentz as using a
“bunker mentality” for sitting on the news too long before contacting others. She was also accused of failing to fully
acknowledge the significance of the problem thus fueling even more critical media inquiries by not properly disclosing all
the facts in a timely manner. Off-the-record that same former Executive Committee member told LovelandPolitics,
"For God's sake she has known since last year that Larry ran our finances into the ground and was saying
in private she still wants to preserve his reputation and somehow contain the news."
Trouble Raising Money
Party insiders have indicated to LovelandPolitics they fear a backlash by party contributors who are likely to hold onto
their wallets until a completely new crew is in charge and there is more accountability of how money is spent. One told
LovelandPolitics, "when a ship hits the rocks it may be the Captain's responsibility but that also means an
awful lot of crew failed to do their jobs as well." If the rumors are accurate about Carillo spending party funds
without properly documenting the expenditures, than any subsequent filings that misrepresents how campaign funds
were used could carry criminal offenses for the person signing the filings even if that person was unaware of the true
nature of the expenditures. If Carillo used any funds for personal expenses than he and the party would owe taxes on
that money as well.
Elected as Chairman of the Larimer County Republican Party in February of 2009 (Carillo was 29 at the time) was the
youngest ever elected to that position. Like the Republican Central Committee Executive Board, Carillo served as a
volunteer and dedicated hundreds of hours to the demanding unpaid position. Since being elected Chairman, Carillo
and his wife who is in medical school separated and later he lost his job. Unemployed and single, Carillo was
contemplating a run for Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party ( a paid position) before details of his
mismanagement of Larimer County Republican finances surfaced.
Carillo's political activism started at a young age when he first volunteered with the College Republicans at CSU.
During that time a scandal occurred regarding a rental car expense that later surfaced when he ran for City Council.
Carillo first moved to Northern Colorado to attend CSU and became active in party politics when he served as the
Vice-Chair of the Colorado State University College Republicans. In 2001 Carillo ran for a seat on the Ft. Collins City
Council but was defeated by Marty Tharp.
Join the online conversation about this story
| Larimer County Republican Chairman Resigns Amid Financial Crisis |
| To: Larimer County Republicans and Other Interested Persons Re: Resignation of Larimer County Republican Party (“LCRP”) Chairman From: Devon Lentz, LCRP External Vice-Chair and Temporary LCRP Chairman It has recently come to the attention of the LCRP executive board that there have been certain issues within the LCRP, dealing with campaign finance reporting and financial management. The LCRP executive board has accepted the resignation of its chairman, Larry Carillo. The current External Vice-Chair of the LCRP, Ms. Devon Lentz, will be acting as temporary chair until a new chairman is selected. The LCRP is responsible for administrative duties of the Republican Party at the County level, these internal issues do not involve any Republican candidates or elected public officials, past or present. Pursuant to the by-laws of the State Republican Party, a Larimer County Central Committee Meeting will be called in the next few weeks to elect a new chair. You will receive official notification of that meeting at least ten days prior. Please forward this email to the Committee Persons in your district. Regards, Gary Marison Internal Vice Chair Larimer County Republican Party 720.220.0074 (c) 970.532.2047 (h) |
| Larry Carillo addresses a Larimer County Republican gathering while State Senator Kevin Lundberg looks on from the background |
| the Board of Directors). |