Ex-Mayor Accused of Not Paying Taxes

A former Fillmore mayor faces criminal charges for allegedly failing to withhold payroll taxes from two workers who helped repair his gun shop.

Gary Creagle, a former sheriff’s deputy who owned the Up in Arms gun shop in Fillmore, has been charged with nine felony and misdemeanor counts of failure to withhold payroll taxes and failure to file tax returns. Creagle has since sold the shop.

Creagle is accused of not paying about $5,000 in state income taxes for workers he hired in 1996 to make repairs on his gun shop, which was damaged in the Northridge earthquake, Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom Johnson said.

The workers told authorities that taxes were not withheld from their pay, according to court records.

The district attorney’s office received a tip from Russ Whitmeyer, who runs a private investigation firm in Ventura. The Employment Development Department investigated Creagle, and the Ventura County district attorney’s office filed the charges.

Creagle served on the Fillmore City Council from 1984 to 1988, and was mayor for one year. In 1985, he was criticized for supporting a resolution to make English the official language in Fillmore and was the target of an unsuccessful recall effort. Creagle also spent 13 years with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Creagle turned himself in on Jan. 15, and was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Ventura County Superior Court on Feb. 9 and could face a three-year sentence if convicted.