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State official in Wetmore target of porn investigation

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – January 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

A former state representative in Wetmore has been dismissed from the state parole board amid allegations that he was involved with child pornography.

Larry Schwarz, a Republican, represented House District 44 (Custer, Teller, and Pueblo counties) in the legislature from 1993 to 1997. He resigned to accept an appointment to the parole board from Gov. Roy Romer, and was re-appointed by Gov. Bill Owens in June, 2000.

The parole board has seven members, and rules on applications from state prison inmates for early release.

Custer County Sheriff Fred Jobe is in charge of the investigation, and said that Schwarz’s home in the TV Hills subdivision near Wetmore was searched on Dec. 4 for videos and photographs that contained child pornography. The sheriff said charges will be filed as soon as the investigation is complete.

Owens fired Schwarz from the parole board on Dec. 4, on the grounds that he had filed false information on his application for re-appointment. The application asks if there is anything in the applicant’s background which would be an embarrassment if it became public, and Schwarz said there wasn’t.