Former Colorado mayor pleads guilty in embezzlement scheme; ordered to repay town
Robert Gordanier, the former mayor and police chief for the small Colorado town of Lakeside, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony embezzlement of public property and misdemeanor official misconduct in connection with a car-flipping scheme uncovered in a CBS News Colorado investigation.
Prosecutors agreed to drop five other counts. Gordanier, who did not make a statement at the hearing, was sentenced to a total of four years probation and was ordered to repay the town of Lakeside $26,088.
Gordanier's daughter, Brenda Hamilton, who was the town clerk, was also indicted by a grand jury and has a court date set for late January.
In 2023, CBS News Colorado reported on multiple instances of Gordanier allowing his daughter to buy three town police vehicles for pennies on the dollar. Documents showed he allowed her to buy some vehicles for as little as $300.
Following the CBS investigation, a grand jury indicted Gordanier and his daughter noting that Hamilton later turned around and sold the vehicles on the open market for far more than she paid.
Hamilton has maintained she did nothing wrong.
In an interview with CBS News Colorado, Gordanier said, "she wanted to buy 'em, and so I sold them. It was a lot easier just to do it and be done with it than having to advertise or anything."
In July 2024, trustees for the town of Lakeside fired Gordanier, who had worked for the town since 1967 as both police and fire chief and had also served as the town's Mayor. Hamilton resigned from her position.
An attorney for Gordanier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jefferson County Chief Deputy District Attorney Darren Kafka emphasized that Gordanier's actions represented "a significant breach of public trust, undermining confidence in both our government institutions and law enforcement everywhere."
