AURORA – A former Aurora officer, who resigned after Denver7 reported on allegations he was married to two women at the same time, has now been charged with stealing money from two police nonprofit groups where he served as their treasurers.
Roland Thomas Albert, 38, faces a charge of theft stemming from allegations he stole $71,147 from the Aurora Police Orphan Fund and $7,753 from the Brotherhood for the Fallen in Aurora.
Both funds help families of officers who died. The Brotherhood for the Fallen provides money for officers to attend funeral services and supports families of police officers who are killed in the line of duty.
Albert was the subject of a Denver7 investigation in September after records showed a man with the same name as Roland Albert was married to a woman in July and the marriage certificate was recorded July 26 in Las Vegas.
Albert’s wife filed for divorce in Colorado on July 26, but the case was still open, the Colorado state court website showed at the time. Divorces in Colorado are not immediate.
Being married to two people at the same time is illegal in Colorado.
Albert resigned from the police force on Dec. 14, 2018, a police spokeswoman said Tuesday. He had been on paid leave while he was investigated by internal affairs after the polygamy allegations surfaced.
Shortly after the marriage allegations surfaced, allegations of theft from nonprofits came to light as well.
Aurora Brotherhood for the Fallen Vice President Crystal McCoy told Denver7 her organization obtained a civil order and garnished a portion of Albert’s salary during the time he was being investigated for polygamy and on paid leave. He also stepped down as treasurer.
Online court records show a civil judgment against Albert for $8,365.65.
Records showing how much Albert was paid by the police department while he was suspended and under investigation were not available Tuesday. Denver7 has filed an open records request asking for that information.
"Our organization was not only stunned to learn about Roland’s actions, but we are angered. The choices Roland made reflects his character alone, and are not supported by our organization. As an organization we took swift action to recuperate our losses, and have taken several steps internally to prevent this from happening again in the future," McCoy said in a statement Tuesday. Read the full statement here.
At the time of Denver7’s first report, Albert’s attorney said he had no comment.
Courts records say 95 percent of Aurora Police Department employees donate money to the Aurora Police Orphan Fund, often with automatic paycheck withdrawals.
McCoy said Brotherhood for the Fallen is funded by money from police officers and the public.
Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz asked the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the theft allegations because Albert was an Aurora Police Officer and Metz wanted an independent agency to investigate, Aurora Police Sgt. Michael Pitrusu said.
