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Vasquez faces charges of identity theft
Community shocked at fraud charges for former councilman

After an unexpected turn of events, the community of Williams is shocked and asking the questions, "Why," and "What's the rest of the story?"

Longtime Williams resident and former city councilman Michael F. Vasquez was arrested Thursday morning on four counts each of identity theft, forgery and illegal acquisition of a credit card during a raid conducted by the Williams Police Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Coconino County Sheriff's Office.

"I'm sure everyone was shocked and surprised," said city councilman Don Dent, who has worked with Vasquez alongside other councilmen for many years. "He (Vasquez) and his family both have been very good contributors to the community and he's worked selflessly with the chamber of commerce and others to make Williams a better place to live. It's a total surprise."

The raid took place at Vasquez' business, Alternative Impressions, on Route 66. A subsequent raid was also conducted at Vasquez' Williams residence.

The charges and raids followed a preliminary investigation by the WPD, who had received a call only a week and a half prior from a former male employee of Vasquez', the name of whom the WPD has not yet released.

WPD Detective Rob Krombeen said the employee had worked with Vasquez sometime in the mid-1990s and had recently discovered unauthorized credit card charges in his name after applying for an undisclosed service.

"Basically the victim applied for a service and was denied, he was told because of his credit," Krombeen said. "So he obtained a credit report and found substantial amounts charged on accounts in his name that he knew nothing about."

The WPD received documentation substantiating the victim's claim and Krombeen said that in a post-arrest interview, Vasquez was cooperative and informative.

Though there has not been an admission or denial of guilt, Krombeen did say there was "quite a bit of information received that was relevant to the case at hand" during the interview.

Vasquez was booked into Coconino County Jail on what was initially to be a $100,000 bond and was released without bail Friday.

Police continue to prepare the case and are not releasing yet the amount of damages or what the credit cards were spent on, but say that the incident occurred over the course of several years.

Vasquez lost his seat on the city council in the May elections to Andrew Hamby and has since been sidelining as a contracted consultant for Grand Canyon-Northland Amusements & Entertainment, LLC ‹ developers of the proposed multi-million dollar theme park.

One of the first questions on the mind of many in the community was, "Is the case related to the theme park?"

According to GCNAE chairman Mike Morgan, the answer is no.

"Not knowing the specifics of the charges, all I can say is that it has nothing to do with his conduct or his interfacing with Grand Canyon-Northland or our project," Morgan said. "And we certainly, as a company, wish him well in this process."

Morgan added that at no time did Vasquez have access to any of GCNAE's computers or sensitive financial documents.

Like many that Vasquez has worked with, Morgan said he and his partners had nothing but the highest respect for Vasquez and can only wait and see what the judicial process reveals.

"There's not a lot you can say," said councilman John Moore. "But Michael (Vasquez) has always been active in the community and has always had his heart with the people of Williams. I'm sorry to hear about his troubles and I guess all you can say about that is to wait and see what the outcome is."

Words had circulated that Vasquez may have been one of the people council members were considering to replace Pat Carpenter, who resigned as councilman recently due to an address change. Current council members, however, denied that Vasquez' name had been mentioned.

Because the charges are within city limits, Vasquez will now appear at the Williams Justice Court at 10 a.m. on Monday before the case goes any further.

Vasquez and his attorney, Bruce Griffen, of Aspey, Watkins and Diesel in Flagstaff, could not be reached by press time.


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