county fair

Guilty Plea Entered in County Fair Embezzlement Case

By Katie Pyzyk

A former county employee accused of embezzling from the Arlington County Fair has pleaded guilty to all counts against her.

Denise Marshall Roller pleaded to 11 felony counts, including embezzlement, forgery and money laundering. The 48-year-old Fredericksburg, Va. resident had worked since 2005 as the county fair’s event manager. She resigned last May, after police were tipped off to suspicious activity.

Investigators discovered that between February and May of last year, Marshall Roller deposited nearly $12,000 of checks intended for the fair into a fraudulent bank account. Court documents show she submitted forged bylaws to a local bank, which apparently allowed her to open an account in the fair’s name. She withdrew portions of the money over the three month period for her personal use, prosecutors said.

When confronted about the account by colleagues, police say Marshall Roller initially claimed she had set up a personal account at the bank and mistakenly deposited a county fair check into the account.

Marshall Roller is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27.

Plea Expected in County Fair Embezzlement Case

By ARLnow.com

A plea is expected in the case of a former county employee accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from the Arlington County Fair.

Denise Marshall Roller, 48, is facing 11 felony charges including embezzlement, forgery and conducting unlawful financial transactions. The Fredericksburg, Va. resident worked as the fair’s event manager between 2005 and 2011, under a Memorandum of Understanding between Arlington County (her employer) and the nonprofit that runs the fair.

According to court records, Marshall Roller is expected to enter a plea in Arlington County Circuit Court on Tuesday, Jan. 31. She was indicted by a grand jury in September and was originally slated to stand trial on Monday, Jan. 23.

Photo courtesy Arlington County Sheriff’s Office

EXCLUSIVE: Former County Fair Manager Charged With Embezzlement

By ARLnow.com

A former Arlington County employee has been charged with embezzling funds from the Arlington County Fair, ARLnow.com has learned exclusively.

Denise Marshall Roller, 47, has been charged with four felony counts of embezzling from the non-profit Arlington County Fair, Inc., one felony count of embezzling public funds, two felony counts of forgery and four felony counts of conducting unlawful financial transactions. She was indicted by a grand jury in September and released on a $5,000 bond in October, according to court documents. She’s scheduled to face trial on Jan. 23, 2012.

Marshall Roller, a resident of Fredericksburg, Va., had worked as the county fair’s event manager since at least 2005. A county employee since August 2003, Marshall Roller worked for the fair under a Memorandum of Understanding between the county and the non-profit that organizes the fair, said county and fair officials. Before being hired by the county, Marshall Roller helped to organize the annual Taste of Arlington event in Ballston.

Marshall Roller’s legal woes started in early May of 2011, when the fair’s Board of Directors discovered the alleged embezzlement, according to Arlington County Fair Board Chairwoman Tiffany Kudravetz. The Board brought the matter to the attention of Marshall Roller’s supervisor, Kudravetz said, and the matter was referred to the Arlington County Police Department.

In a statement emailed to ARLnow.com, Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan said the county acted swiftly after the allegations came to light.

“The County acted immediately upon learning of allegations that Arlington County Fair funds had been misappropriated by a County employee,” Donnellan said. “It turned the matter over to the Arlington County Police Department and appropriate action was taken with the employee. After investigating, ACPD turned the results of its investigation over to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office. The employee is no longer with the County. The Grand Jury has handed down an indictment. This matter is now before the Court.”

The alleged crimes took place between February and May of this year, according to court documents. Prosecutors declined to disclose exactly how much was supposedly taken, but organizers say the fair is not currently in financial trouble.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Kudravetz said.

Marshall Roller resigned her position in May, county Director of Human Resources Marcy Foster told ARLnow.com. She had been working within the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, according to county spokesman Mary Curtius. A new county-employed event manager took over for Marshall Roller in May.

The Arlington County Fair, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, went off without a hitch in August.

Kudravetz says fair organizers are considering a new Memorandum of Understanding that would eliminate the county-staffed event manager position in favor of placing several county employees on the fair’s board of directors.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sun Sets on Arlington County Fair — The rides, food stands, and carnival games that made up the Arlington County Fair are all packing up and heading out. Last night was the fair’s last night. In case you missed it, Patch has published 21 separate articles on the fair since Thursday.

Arlington’s ‘Karaoke Cab’ Featured on NPR — Arlington’s ‘Karaoke Cab‘ was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered over the weekend. [NPR]

Pakistan Kidnapping’s Arlington Connection — An American development expert kidnapped in Pakistan on Saturday was the Pakistan director of J.E. Austin Associates, a consultancy based in Courthouse. [New York Times]

Arlington Stingy on Diplomatic Gifts — Arlington only gives gifts to visiting diplomatic delegations “on rare occasion,” and when it does, the value of those gifts is in the “tens of dollars, not hundreds of dollars.” Arlington’s policy on diplomatic gifts contrasts with that of the District; D.C. officials are “re-gifting” a set of donated plates to foreign dignitaries. [Washington Post]

Arlington Art Attacker Arrested Again — Susan Burns, the 53-year-old Arlington woman accused of attacking a Gauguin painting at the National Gallery of Art back in April, has been arrested again. This time, Burns is charged with slamming a Matisse against a wall at the same museum. [MyFoxDC]

Arlington County Fair Program Released

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Fair is just a week away, and now we know a bit more about the kind of food and entertainment that’s on tap.

The fair’s official program is now online, complete with lists of exhibitors, food vendors and fair hours. Also included are maps and an entertainment schedule.

Among the food vendors are A&B Soft Serve, Cherokee Cuisine (“Krispy Kreme burgers,” “turkey kielbasa tortilla wraps,” etc.), Capital Empanadas, Family Grill (kebabs, pad thai, etc.), Four Seasons Grill (gyros, turkey legs, etc.), I Love Thai, International Grill Company (cheesesteaks, falafel, etc.), MacBrand Foods (sausage, “blooming onions,” etc.), Nittaya Grill (chicken teriyaki, funnel cakes, etc.), Orient-Bowl, and Rivera’s (carne asada, pupusas, etc.).

Among the more than 125 exhibitors are the Arlington County Democratic Committee, the Arlington County Republican Committee, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Artisphere, Dominion Electric Power, Friends of the David M. Brown Planetarium, Potomac Harmony/Showtime Chorus, and dozens of merchants.

Among the scheduled outdoor events are the Civil War HistoryMobile, Star Family Circus, racing piglets, pony rides, Harlem Wizards basketball demonstration (Fri.-Sat.), outdoor movies (Fri.-Sat.), and animal rescue group exhibitions (Fri.-Sun.).

The fair takes place at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 S. 2nd Street). See the Arlington County Fair web site for more information.

Volunteers Needed for County Fair

By Katie Pyzyk

The Arlington County Fair is fast approaching, and organizers are looking for volunteers.

Help is wanted from August 10-14.  Volunteers are asked to attend an orientation session to learn about the fair and what opportunities are available. The first orientation is tonight and the other is next Tuesday. Volunteers will have the chance to win a door prize of tickets to a concert at the 9:30 Club.

If you’d like to volunteer, click here for the application, or email  [email protected] for more information.

Photos from the Fair

By ARLnow.com

After a sparsely-attended, rainy start to the Arlington County Fair on Wednesday, crowds flocked to the Thomas Jefferson Community Center Thursday evening for the fair’s “official” kickoff.

A who’s who of county leaders attended an opening ceremony that featured the U.S. Army Band Downrange, a presentation of the colors and the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.

Among those in attendance were county manager Michael Brown, Rep. Jim Moran (later spotted scoping out the rides for a subsequent fair visit with the grandkids), police chief M. Douglas Scott, sheriff Beth Arthur, most county and school board members, local military leaders, an ABC7 reporter with cameraman in town and a number of servicemen and women.

Most fairgoers skipped the opening ceremony, however, and instead went straight to the rides, games and food stands. The fair’s famous pig races drew a crowd as well.

Lots of photos of fair fun, after the jump.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A Drier Night At the Fair — The Arlington County Fair shut down early last night thanks to the rain. With any luck the rain will hold tonight so fair-goers can enjoy the rides and the concessions without an umbrella. If all else fails, however, the indoor exhibits will be open tonight. See the fair hours.

Restaurant Week in Clarendon — Clarendon Nights has a list of Clarendon and Courthouse restaurants participating in DC Restaurant Week.

Five Guys Wins More Praise — Five Guys Burgers and Fries has been getting some glowing news coverage lately. The chain, which started in Arlington, topped Zagat’s Best Burger category in survey results released Monday. The chain has been expanding rapidly recently, attracting local media attention everywhere it goes. Unanswered questions: How big can the now Lorton-based Five Guys get, and to what degree did national coverage of President Obama’s visit to a Five Guys last year boost its image?

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Fair Starts Today — The Arlington County Fair will get off to a soggy start today. The gates will open from 5:00 to 10:00 tonight for outdoor activities. The indoor festivities (vendors and such) will get underway tomorrow night.

Hillside Park Still A Work in Progress — TBD takes a look at Rosslyn’s Hillside Park, which is being revamped courtesy of a local developer. The work is behind schedule, but is expected to be completed in the fall.

Conte’s Group Rides Still Attracting Crowds — With only a couple of police-escorted group bike rides to go for the year, more than 100 cyclists gathered in Ballston last night for the weekly Conte’s-sponsored event. More from the Ode Street Tribune.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

T-Minus One Week to the Arlington County Fair

By ARLnow.com

You can almost smell the deep-fried Oreos already. Yes, it’s that time of year again — the Arlington County Fair is nearly upon us.

New this year, a traveling educational show called Bixby’s Rainforest Rescue will make its Arlington debut. Bixby will bring with him a sloth, birds, snakes and other exotic rainforest animals. His 30-minute show will include lessons on the value of the rainforest and ways to save it.

This year’s fair will also mark the triumphant return of the racing piglets, who were conspicuously absent last year. The piglets and Bixby will both hold about five shows per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Plan on sticking around after dark on Friday and Saturday. The movies Up and Twilight: New Moon will be playing outdoors on the tennis courts.

As always, dozens of vendors will be on hand with plenty of food, rides, and exhibits to keep the family fed and entertained and to lighten the load from mom and dad’s pocketbooks.

The fair will start on Wednesday, August 18 and wrap up on Sunday, August 22. It’s being held, as it has for the past 33 years, at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 South 2nd Street).

Here’s the bad news: there is no parking, except for handicapped spaces. And neighboring streets will be closed to non-local traffic. And there’s no Metrorail nearby. So you’ll either have to live within walking distance, take a bus, ride a bike or take one of the three fair shuttles, which charge $1 each way.

The shuttles run sparingly — every 30 minutes — and only pick up in three locations:

  • Arlington Career Center (816 South Walter Reed Drive)
  • I-66 Parking Garage (near Washington-Lee High School)
  • Ballston Metro station

For more information, check out the fair web site, Facebook page and Twitter account.

Photo via Facebook.