Prompted by the local Republican Party, an anonymous donor has stepped up to pay for local law enforcement\u2019s overtime security costs associated with the vice president\u2019s visit to Aspen last week.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo, who said an official with Pitkin County Republicans told him Saturday they found a person who volunteered to pay the overtime bill \u201cbut wants complete anonymity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey won\u2019t tell me who\u2019s paying,\u201d DiSalvo said Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s not the person who hosted the party.\u201d<\/p>\n
DiSalvo said he still doesn\u2019t know the name of the Caribou Club member who hosted Vice President Mike Pence on July 22 for a private, $35,000-per-couple fundraiser at the private club in downtown Aspen.<\/p>\n
Pitkin County Republicans Chair Anna Zane initially told DiSalvo about the anonymous donor Friday night and confirmed payment would happen Saturday, he said. DiSalvo said he submitted an approximately $18,500 invoice to Zane, which covers all the law enforcement, public works and fire personnel who played a part in Pence\u2019s security. He said Monday he hasn\u2019t yet received the money.<\/p>\n
DiSalvo initially estimated the overtime costs as about $24,500, though chiefs of the Aspen Police Department and the Snowmass Village Police Department said they didn\u2019t want to be reimbursed for their officers\u2019 overtime, so those amounts were subtracted from the total reimbursement, DiSalvo said.<\/p>\n
Zane did not return a phone message Monday seeking comment about the reimbursement.<\/p>\n
Pence flew in to Aspen\u2019s airport the afternoon of July 22, and later attended the Caribou Club fundraiser for about an hour and a half. He stayed the night at the Limelight Hotel in Snowmass Village, attended a meeting of the Republican Governors Association at the St. Regis on July 23 in the morning, and left later the same morning.<\/p>\n
DiSalvo said he heard about 35 couples attended the fundraiser, which benefitted President Donald Trump\u2019s reelection committee and the Republican National Committee.<\/p>\n