UPDATE: Jeffco Dems party chairman, Chris Kennedy, has revoked Estelle Carson’s “Democrat of the Year” award, which never should have been given in the first place.  (see below)  No word yet on whether the Jeffco Dems will return the money donated to the party by the felon.  Also, no word on whether the victim “donated” any money to the Jeffco Dems.

The Jefferson County Democratic Party’s 2011 “Democrat of the Year” Estelle Carson was convicted today of felony identity theft and felony theft for stealing checks from a 71-year old developmentally disabled woman and using them to pay her own cable, cell phone and internet bills.  The victim is partially blind, developmentally disabled, has cerebral palsy, and is confined to a wheelchair. Carson, a despicable human being, is due to be sentenced in December.

Since 2010, Carson has donated nearly $250 to the Jeffco Dems, some of which may have come from her victim’s pocket.  Carson also contributed $350 in non-monetary donations, which were not itemized in TRACER, but also may have come from her victim. Will the Jeffco Dems return the money to the victim?

While the fact that Caron stole from a disabled, elderly woman is bad enough, the Jeffco Dems didn’t exactly escape scot-free either.  CBS4‘s Brian Maass, who broke the story wrote:

“Nearly as bothersome as the theft itself to Maxwell and other supporters of the victim, is the fact the Jefferson County Democratic Party was made aware of the ongoing criminal investigation and honored Carson anyway.”

Apparently, three days before the January 8, 2012 gala, the victim’s advocates contacted Chris Kennedy, chairman of the Jeffco Democratic Party, to tell him about the criminal investigation and suggest that he “un-invite [Carson] and not follow through with this honor.”

But, the sensitive man that Chris Kennedy is, he dismissed the concerns and responded via email to the victim’s advocates, saying:

“After much consideration, my decision was that the award being presented by my organization and the alleged financial exploitation need to be compartmentalized, one having no bearing on the other. Thus I decided to present the award to Estelle.”

For a party that claims to stand up for the little guy and be an advocate for women, this type of dismissive behavior of a very serious ethical breach is appalling and simply reveals the true nature of Kennedy and his leadership.

It also should give some pause to know that Carson, who again was convicted of identity theft, was honored by the Jefferson County Democrats for “her activism on behalf of Democratic causes and her efforts to register voters.”  Register voters?  The woman who forged checks to pay her cell phone bills?  That’s not shady at all.

But, if this is the best Democrat that Jefferson County has to offer, who are we to argue?