The District Attorney’s office has filed criminal charges against the former president of the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce. On Monday, Carey Alderson, 46, was charged with embezzlement by an employee for allegedly using the chamber’s credit card to pay his personal gas and electric bills, totaling $678.65. The alleged theft was first noticed in April, at which time Executive Director Christine Hoenigmann contacted Alderson. The Sheriff’s Department original report states that Alderson made one payment of $160 to repay the debt, but nothing since. Alderson resigned as Chamber president July 21, and the Chamber notified Sheriff’s deputies the next week. Carey Alderson, who was also named as the chair of the Twentynine Palms Cemetery District in February, is set to be arraigned on the embezzlement charge September 21. In 2004, Alderson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment, and in 2003, a charge of driving under the influence was dismissed in exchanged for a guilty plea of drunk in public. Alderson ran unsuccessfully for Twentynine Palms City Council in 2010.
