‘আপনি এই সব জিনিস আপ করতে পারবেন না.’ কুৎসিত কেলেঙ্কারীগুলি জটিল মুহূর্তে সুন্দর সাউথ লেক তাহোকে দোলা দেয়
With its beautiful scenery and clear alpine waters, South Lake Tahoe has long been a destination for outdoor enthusiasts, vacationers, and wealthy Californians seeking a break from city life. It’s a place where people seem more interested in talking about hiking, sailing, or skiing depending on the weather, rather than the often-dull realm of local politics. That changed when South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace sent a letter to the local newspaper this month admitting she stole money from the Presbyterian Church, where she worked for seven years as an office manager and bookkeeper. She then resigned. Adding to the local drama, Wallace’s revelation came a day after news that the city’s mayor pro tem, Cody Bass, had been arrested after an early-morning incident at a distillery. Bass has been charged with battery and disorderly conduct, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. In a statement posted on Facebook, Bass denied any wrongdoing and said he acted “with integrity.” “I will not be stepping down from my position on the City Council,” he wrote. “I am committed to going through the due process to prove my innocence.” The one-two punch of political scandal has residents questioning who they’ve entrusted to run their city of 21,000, which is grappling with issues like housing affordability and how to stay safe amid wildfire threats. In recent years, South Lake Tahoe has seen an influx of residents — many of whom have come from the Bay Area during the pandemic looking for space. The growing pains have put a strain on natural resources — particularly Lake Tahoe’s water quality — and real estate values. The scandals are only heightening tensions.
“You can’t make this stuff up, it’s so wild,” said Mark Salmon, a real estate agent who has lived here for decades. “Our whole town is just shaking their head. It’s a complete disaster.” None of the allegations relate to misuse of government funds or city business. But City Manager Joe Irwin has had to reassure residents that no single member of the council can access city coffers alone, and that audits are done every year. “Voters have placed their trust in these individuals, and I think the reaction that they’re feeling hurt or let down is understandable,” Irwin said in an interview. “There’s going to be a time where we need to work together to rebuild trust and ensure transparency always with our community. I’m confident that we’ll work through this.” According to screenshots of a social media post given to The Times, Wallace’s embezzlement scandal began to unravel after she returned from a 25-day European vacation with her husband celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. In the letter published by the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Wallace wrote that she was filled with such intense guilt, shame, and sorrow that it led her to a mental health crisis and a suicide attempt on her birthday that resulted in her being committed to a mental health facility. No one in her life had any idea that she had been stealing from the church, she said. On Sept. 26, she was fired by the church and law enforcement was made aware of the theft, according to a statement posted by the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church. The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the case. “My crime stems from taking money from a church that embraced me personally and as a team, showed me love, and trusted me as its Church Administrator,” Wallace wrote. “In my mind, I used the majority of these funds to help others such as my deceased son’s three children.”
Wallace wrote that she “actually” turned herself in, but an attorney representing the church disputed that characterization, telling The Times that Wallace didn’t inform the church that she was stealing and that she didn’t write the letter to the newspaper until she learned that the church had discovered the theft. The church is still going through a full accounting to determine how much was taken. Philip Dunn, an attorney representing the Presbyterian Church, estimated the amount of damages to be over $300,000. Wallace did not confirm that number in her post. In one instance, Dunn said, Wallace wrote a check to herself and wrote in the church’s ledger that the money went to an evangelist. The most recently discovered theft was a check for $7,500 that Wallace wrote to herself, he said. The church fraud case is not the first time that Wallace has faced legal problems, according to El Dorado County court records. Federal Insurance Company, now a subsidiary of Chubb, a global insurance company, sued Wallace in 2006 and 2021. Records reviewed by The Times did not indicate why the company sued Wallace. Documents did reveal that the company discovered “stolen funds” in April 2006, and the former mayor agreed to pay back $110,834. The law firm that filed the case on behalf of the insurance company handles workers’ compensation cases, a representative said. According to a promissory note reviewed by The Times, as a result of the case, Wallace was required to pay the insurance company $200 each month. But according to court records, she allegedly fell behind on payments, prompting the company to sue her again. In 2022, she agreed to make an initial payment of $2,500 by June 1, and then continue to make monthly payments of $400 to the company until the amount was paid off. It is not clear if the 2006 case prompted any criminal investigation, and a representative for the insurance company could not be reached for comment. Wallace and an attorney representing her did not return phone calls for comment.
Following Wallace’s confession in the newspaper, calls for her resignation began popping up on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups. Dana Tibbits, who has lived in Lake Tahoe for 15 years, is among those calling for more transparency. In smaller governments like South Lake Tahoe, council members sit on different boards and have a lot of influence on public policy, she said. “Tahoe is a special place. You can’t live here and not recognize that it’s a place that should be cared for, and then when you see the conflict of what’s happening here with the local politics, it’s a terrible dichotomy.” Lake Tahoe has long been known as a playground for the rich and famous, including billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who built a massive compound on the lake’s west shore. But it also has a contingent of blue-collar residents — firefighters, nurses, hospitality workers and teachers — who call the city located in the Sierra Nevada home year-round. But making money and supporting a family in the area is not easy, especially with rising rents and limited job opportunities in the post-pandemic years. “It’s beautiful, but it’s also hard to live here,” Salmon said. And that’s one reason why many people aren’t interested in local politics until something major happens, he said. “If you’re working two or three jobs, and your spouse is too, and you’re raising kids and you’re trying to get from dance to football practice and back to school, you just don’t have the time for that stuff,” he said.
প্রকাশিত: 2025-10-22 16:00:00
উৎস: www.latimes.com
