Snowmass council candidate arrested on theft charge
Debbie Alcorta was arrested for alleged misuse of company credit card
Courtesy Photo
Editor’s note: Unless individuals hold positions of public trust or there is imminent danger of harm to the public (e.g., active shooter) or there is an exceptional circumstance, suspects arrested/charged will not be named/identified until there is a conviction or a plea deal is taken. The individual is identified here due to her being a candidate running for public office.
Snowmass council candidate Debbie S. Alcorta was arrested on Friday for the alleged unauthorized use of a financial transaction device.
She did not respond to an interview request by The Aspen Times.
She was arrested by the Snowmass Police Department at noon on 16 Kearns Road, Snowmass Village, for the Class 2 Misdemeanor theft charge. The Pitkin County Court granted a misdemeanor warrant to the police department for the arrest.
Alcorta, 51, left custody of the police after she was released on a $1,500 personal recognisance bond, which allows for her release without her paying the bond as long as she meets the required court mandates.
Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) told the Snowmass Police Department on Oct. 17 at 11:46 a.m. that Alcorta, a RFTA ex-employee who worked in their housing field, had been using the company’s purchasing card — given to her for business-related purchases — for unauthorized spending, according to an affidavit filed to the Pitkin County Court by Snowmass Police.
The RFTA employee said there were unauthorized card charges under Alcorta’s name at multiple businesses in Snowmass Village, totaling $960.42, according to the affidavit. The employee said she reached out to Alcorta, who reportedly told her she had misplaced the card and had not purchased any of the items in question, according to the affidavit.
The card was used between Sept. 10 and Sept. 29 at Wildwood Snowmass, Whole Foods, Daly Diner, Zane’s Tavern, The Stew Pot, and Clark’s Market, mostly for the purchase of alcohol and food, according to the affidavit.
Under RFTA company policy, employees are not permitted to purchase alcohol with the company card, according to the affidavit.
Because Alcorta had been avoidant about discussing the card, the RFTA employee told Snowmass Police she requested receipts of the charges, many of which contained Alcorta’s name.
The RFTA employee told Snowmass Police she secured video from an establishment where the card was used and saw Alcorta using the card at the time she had claimed to have lost possession, according to the affidavit.
The RFTA employee emailed Alcorta on Oct. 2 asking Alcorta to provide receipts and explanations of the business reasons behind her purchases, according to the affidavit. She also informed Alcorta that RFTA was suspending her card and that she was unauthorized to spend more.
In an email response on Oct. 3, Alcorta wrote, “My wallet is missing that I keep all my RFTA stuff out of my brief case, and I can’t find it anywhere in my house. Most of the charges that I can tell were while I was out of town or gone for the weekend,” according to the affidavit.
She wrote in the email that she had only used the card twice since the last statement to buy print cartridges and a cake for a housing compliance officer’s going away party, which had been coded. She added that she planned to go to the establishments where the charges occurred, to tell them they were fraudulent and to try to get them reversed. Otherwise, she wrote, they would have to reverse the charges through the card company.
On Oct. 4, the RFTA employee reached out to Alcorta once again asking for receipts and expressing concern about the length of time the card was lost without being reported, according to the affidavit.
Alcorta replied to the RFTA employee in an email on Oct. 4, according to the affidavit.
“I went to the vendors yesterday, and I have gotten most of the charges reversed,” wrote Alcorta in the email, “They said it would take 3 to 5 business days to see the reversals.”
Snowmass Police Officer Kara Hall wrote in the affidavit that she obtained three videos of Alcorta using the card at Zane’s Tavern on Sep. 23, Daly Diner on Sep. 28, and Clark’s Market on Sep. 28 — all of which lined up with the charges in question. Hall added that Alcorta was also identified as the person who used the card by a business owner or manager at the three establishments.
Hall wrote in the affidavit that Alcorta still sent RFTA a money order for the amount of the credit card charges even though she had told RFTA the charges had been reversed.
Hall wrote in the affidavit that the RFTA employee sent her an agreement signed by Alcorta acknowledging that she was to use the card only for business-related expenses.
On Oct. 25, Hall filed an application for an arrest warrant to the Pitkin County Court stating she believed to have probable cause that Alcorta committed Class 2 Misdemeanor theft and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device between Sept. 10 and Sept. 29.
A Pitkin County judge issued an arrest warrant approving Hall’s request to arrest Alcorta.
“This person is innocent until proven guilty,” Snowmass Police Chief Brian Olson said of the case. “They deserve a day in court if we made a technical error or made a mistake.”
Her arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 3.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
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