Crowder’s reports points to two home purchases by Larry Romero. The first purchase was in 2014 and the second one was purchased last September. According to the article, Larry Romero bought a home at 3117 Fillmore Ave. for $170,000 in September. The County’s public records database shows a Deed of Trust, dated September 11, 2015, that secures a “Promissory Note” payable to ASLM II Limited Partnership for the amount of $170,000. David Crowder wrote in his article that ASLM II is owned by Malooly Corp.
Unfortunately, the city’s website does not provide copies of the financial disclosure forms required to be filed by city officials. Although they should be readily available, I am now forced to file an open records request asking for a copy of the filings. Because of the holiday’s and the city’s slowness in releasing public records I likely will not get a response until next year.
However, I thought it important to point out the latest in Larry Romero’s continued saga because I am starting to believe that Larry Romero may be leaving office soon.
Yesterday, Larry Romero missed the city council meeting. He asked that he be excused due to illness. As you likely know, city council has asked Larry Romero to resign from several board appointments. As far as I know, he has yet to resign. In addition, Romero is facing ethics complaints over official actions he has taken while in office. Although David Crowder, so far, is the only one to have reported on Romero’s failure to properly file his financial disclosure reports, it is likely that the ethics complaint may be amended or a new one filed as a result.
As the pressure mounts on Larry Romero I am beginning to doubt that he will finish out his term.
The question is whether he will resign on his own volition or will he be forced from office through legal action.
With all of the closures and distractions during the holidays they are the perfect opportunity for Larry Romero to do the right thing and quietly resign his office before the year end. At this point the only thing he can offer his constituency is ending the continued saga that reminds everyone why El Paso is known for its culture of corruption.