DENVER – The executive director of one of the charities raising money for fallen Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Heath Gumm has given no sign he's stepping down from fundraising, even though he is being investigated for alleged embezzlement at a different charity, a Denver7 investigation has found.
Frank Gale is in charge at the Colorado Police Officers Foundation, which is not connected to the Adams County Sheriff’s Foundation. Both are raising money and say it will go to Gumm’s family. Gumm was laid to rest Friday after being shot while responding to a call Jan. 24.
Previously, Frank Gale was the head of Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services, Inc., a nonprofit group which worked on behalf of immigrants to help them resettle.
That group's bookkeeper discovered a $32,778.85 check Gale allegedly wrote to himself in April of 2017 from the nonprofit's bank account, two years after the charity shut down, according to a court document.
Court records indicate the check was deposited into an account whose owner was Franklin Gale.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office is investigating Gale, DA's office spokesman Ken Lane told Denver7 this week.
Gale’s attorney, Reid Elkus, has said previously that Gale will not be stepping down from the officers foundation and said Friday his client has nothing more to comment.
“We will see what happens in the coming months,” Elkus said of the Denver District Attorney’s Office investigation.
The district attorney’s office has not filed charges, and the investigation is still ongoing, Lane said.
Elkus said Gale has done nothing wrong. Elkus declined to say if or why Gale wrote a check to himself.
The Colorado Police Officers Foundation changed its website since Thursday to say donations for Deputy Gumm's family would be accepted until Sunday. Previously, the site did not list an end date.
