Douglas Bruce defended himself in court Monday against charges he violated his probation, and the prosecution indicated additional complaints have been filed against Bruce since his last hearing in April stemming from problems in other states with property he owns.

Bruce, author of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, is on probation for 2012 convictions of economic crimes, all felonies. He served 104 days in jail.

As part of his probation he is required to notify his probation officer of certain things. The Denver and El Paso county probation officers in charge of his case testified Monday he had failed to tell them about a traffic ticket, provide his 2012 and 2013 state and federal tax returns and fill out a financial disclosure form that was sent to him.

Most of the testimony, however, was about a transaction where Bruce deeded his late mother’s condominium to City Councilwoman Helen Collins and then Collins sold the property a day later.

That transaction drew an ethics complaint against Collins because it effectively prevented the city from filing a lien on the property for money that the court ordered Bruce to pay. Bruce had filed a civil lawsuit against the city and lost. He was ordered to pay the city $7,569.61.

Bruce did not disclose the sale of the house to his probation officers or the civil judgement, they said.

Bruce challenged many of the accusations on the grounds that his probation agreement was unclear. For example, he asked the probation officers to explain what a “financial contract” did and did not include.

“Milk, gas and clothes?” he asked.

Bruce said after the hearing that the accusations were unfounded.

The hearing at the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse stretched to 5 p.m. Monday and was continued until 1 p.m. Aug. 31. Bruce indicated he would testify during the hearing and also call Collins as a witness.

Robert Shapiro, first assistant attorney general, said during Bruce’s last hearing that Bruce could face financial penalties or be sentenced to the Department of Corrections for the violations.

Shapiro asked the judge whether the new charges against Bruce, which were not detailed in court, could be heard at the continued hearing.

Bruce objected and said after that he had a right to know what he was being charged with before the trial started. Judge Sheila A. Rappaport said she would keep the issues separate.

After the hearing Monday, Shapiro said a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office would have to answer questions.

Bruce is wanted in Ohio for misdemeanor code violations at properties he owns there.

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Contact Megan Schrader

719-286-0644

Douglas Bruce. File photo