Ex-president of East Bay Little League charged with theft
Authorities say Debbie Carlisle stole as much as $21,300 from the league.
By JAY CRIDLIN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 20, 2005
RIVERVIEW - She seemed like the perfect Little League president: tireless, patient, outspoken and relentless in her pursuit of team and league sponsorships.
She even helped secure $565,000 in funding for renovations to Riverview's Vance Vogel Park, home of East Bay Little League. For that, she was nominated for Hillsborough County's 2004 Moral Courage Award.
That was the Debbie Carlisle parents and coaches knew.
On Wednesday, they met another Debbie Carlisle - one who police say stole as much as $21,300 from East Bay Little League, including as much as $8,000 collected from players and designated for baseball equipment, leaving the league's financial future in doubt.
"I hate to say it," said league board member Tom Hamilton, "but we should have seen it coming. We never looked behind her, we never checked our funds. And here we are today."
Carlisle, 45, surrendered to authorities Wednesday after a three-month Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigation into alleged misappropriation of Little League funds.
She faces 22 counts of grand theft and 26 counts of petty theft. Jail records indicate she has been released on $9,600 bail.
The Riverview-based league will start play in February, but league officials say it will be tough to pay all the bills. As recently as a few weeks ago, before registration fees came in, the league was $30,000 in debt.
"We've lost some of our sponsorships over this, and that's money that we count on from year to year," said new league president Mike Soto. "This is going to be a close call, as far as having enough money for uniforms and stuff."
This is not how officials expected to launch the league's 35th year. About 450 kids signed up this month to play in the league, which encompasses much of south Hillsborough County.
Carlisle, who lives in Ruskin, served as league president, a board-elected position, from 2001 to November 2004. When Carlisle took office, the league was on solid ground, said Cherry Lamb, the treasurer at the time.
"At the end of our season, we were breaking even, never behind," Lamb said. "Once our spring season started up, we had things under control. But not that I can ever recall were we ever in a bad financial situation."
Parents and officials said they had no reason to think otherwise during Carlisle's tenure as president. League registration fees grew from $90 in 2001 to $120 this season, and Carlisle went out of her way to secure team and league sponsorship deals from local businesses worth as much as $3,000.
Then there was the matter of the $565,000 county grant, which followed complaints from Carlisle to the Hillsborough County Commission about the state of Vance Vogel Park. Her tenacity resulted in new fencing, freshly painted facilities and an added baseball field. She was praised by former County Commissioner Pat Frank, who nominated Carlisle for a Moral Courage Award.
Lamb's husband Mike, a former coach who left the league following a dispute with Carlisle over his ability to coach part-time, said that high-profile grant and the ensuing publicity may have blinded parents and coaches to what was really going on.
"There were no upgrades, as far as uniforms - going to different styles, heavier material, better hats, none of that kind of stuff," he said.
After receiving anonymous complaints, the Sheriff's Office reviewed the league's financial records. That led to Carlisle being accused of stealing as much as $8,000 in registration money and charging more than $13,300 to a league ATM/debit card.
"Debbie had gotten to the point where she was basically doing everything herself," Soto said. "She had control of the financials, and we didn't really have any oversight in place."
Through a family member, Carlisle and her husband, Kenneth, referred questions about the case to their attorney, who did not return a call for comment Wednesday evening.
Soto said changes are under way as the league tries to rebuild its image and restore faith among its sponsors. He said the league no longer has a debit card and that its financial transactions will be monitored by several officials.
Kenneth Carlisle is also a longtime East Bay Little League board member. Soto said he will ask Carlisle to take a leave of absence until the case is resolved.
Hamilton said he hopes the money left over from this year's spring registrations will be enough to keep the league afloat through the fall.
"Most kids, my son included, they dream baseball," he said. "You've just got to have the field ready, get morale up and move forward."
Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report. Jay Cridlin can be reached at 813 661-2442 or cridlin@sptimes.com
