Colorado Man Charged with Felony in Vandalism of Historic Columbus Monument Elected to City Council; Italian American Community in Uproar


After the pandemic kept her separated from family for more than a year, Teresa finally made the trek from her home in Arizona to her birthplace, the southern Colorado city of Pueblo. Teresa was eager not only to be reunited with loved ones but to finally be able to see the plaque that her cousin had sponsored in memory of their grandparents on Pueblo’s Columbus Monument, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

But after arriving at the Monument, Teresa discovered that the family’s plaque was nowhere to be found. “I searched the site several times before calling my cousin,” said Teresa, who asked to remain anonymous.

Then the mystery began to unfold. Teresa learned that her family’s plaque was among those that disappeared from the 114-year-old Monument — the first erected in Colorado and the only one that remains in the state — when it was vandalized in May of this year.

While the attack on the Monument did not surprise Teresa, learning the identity of the man who has been charged with the act of vandalism did: Vicente Martinez Ortega. Martinez Ortega, 39, was elected to the Pueblo City Council earlier this year, after he was charged with felony criminal mischief.

“I was dumbfounded,” said Teresa. “This hateful act demonstrated a profound deficit of integrity and judgement, not the type of person that should hold public office. I mean, how can Martinez-Ortega be entrusted to care for city property when he has been charged with destroying that very same property?” (Pueblo’s Columbus Monument is owned by the city of Pueblo but is largely maintained and has been restored over the years by the local chapter of the Sons of Italy.)

Martinez Ortega did not disclose to voters the charges pending against him during his bid for city council, a revelation that has shocked many Puebloans. Court records show that Martinez Ortega was charged on June 29, 2021. He officially announced his candidacy on August 10, 2021.

Watch a recent news report regarding the case, here:

Martinez Ortega’s plea hearing is set for January 7, 2022. He is scheduled to be sworn into office three days later. While Pueblo’s Charter prohibits individuals with felony convictions from holding office, Martinez Ortega is expected to plead guilty to a lesser charge — a misdemeanor — which would enable him to assume office.

The community is urging Italian Americans across the country to contact Judge Amiel Markenson, who will be hearing Martinez Ortega’s case, as well as the special prosecutor, Cody Christian, and respectfully ask that the felony charge not be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Their contact information is below.

Authorities contend that Martinez Ortega, who has been one of the most vocal advocates for the removal of Pueblo’s Columbus Monument, vandalized Christopher Columbus Plaza in late May 2021, damaging brickwork and prying off several brass plaques that had been sponsored to support the monument’s preservation and maintenance. He has not denied the charges. The class six felony is punishable by up to 1.5 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

Pueblo, Colorado’s Christopher Columbus monument, as it stands today.

Colorado became the first state in the nation to establish Columbus Day as a legal holiday in 1907, predating the federal government’s designation by 30 years.

In the wake of the 1891 lynching of 11 Sicilian immigrants in New Orleans and rampant discrimination directed at Italian Americans, Ettore Chiariglione, an Italian from Pueblo who served as the president of the Columbian Federation of Italian American Societies, advocated for monuments to be erected in Columbus’s honor across the United States.

In 2020, as civil unrest swept the nation, Pueblo found itself embroiled in a particularly tense conflict surrounding its Columbus Monument.

Women in front of the Columbus Monument, 1920s.

“Pueblo’s Columbus Monument testifies to the time when Italian Americans were marginalized immigrants. It illustrates the complex history of our nation and of Pueblo, which has long been defined by its diversity.” said Teresa. “Besides lacking appreciation for the many cultures that call Pueblo home, Martinez Ortega hid his criminal history from voters and should be allowed to assume a public office in Pueblo or anywhere else.”

 

Please contact Judge Markenson and Pros. Christian, and request that Martinez Ortega’s felony charge not be reduced to a misdemeanor.

 

Judge Amiel Markenson

Reference case number 2021CR000943.

Email for judge’s clerk: Stephanie.portillos@judicial.state.co.us.

Phone: 719-404-8720

By mail: 501 N. Elizabeth Street, Ste. 116

Pueblo, CO 81003

 

Ms. Cody Christian, Special Prosecutor

Reference Vicente Martinez Ortega

Email: CodyChristian@elpasoco.com

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