UPDATE: The mayor of South Lake Tahoe admitted to embezzling her church employer in an open letter sent Sunday to South Tahoe Now. And in a separate incident involving elected leaders, it was learned the mayor pro-tem was arrested late last month for alleged misdemeanor assault, trespassing and harassment. He has since been formally charged with harassment and trespassing.
In the letter to South Tahoe Now, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace admitted to having embezzled money from Lake Tahoe Presbyterian Church where she was employed as the church administrator.
Wallace said in the letter that she has been suffering from mental health issues and had attempted suicide last month. She wrote that she contacted the church and gave them all the account numbers, passwords and details of the embezzlement. She said she was hospitalized for 18 days after the attempted suicide and is now under a doctor’s care. She did not state whether she was resigning her elected position.
It is unknown at this time how much money Wallace stole and whether or not the church was investigating the crime prior to her contacting them. Wallace did not specify how much money took, only that she provided the church information about the embezzlement. The church has not responded to requests to find out details into the crime.
South Lake Tahoe Police Department turned the criminal matter over to the El Dorado County District Attorney, which is investigating. South Tahoe Now contacted the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and was told that the matter was turned over to the county due to a conflict of interest, as Wallace oversees the police department as part of her duties.
It is unknown at this time if the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. At the time of this writing, no formal charges have been made and Wallace has not given any indication that she was resigning from the position.
Meanwhile it was learned this weekend, the current mayor pro tem of South Lake Tahoe, Cody Bass, was arrested by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) Sept. 26, 2025 from an incident that happened late Sept. 25. He faces misdemeanor charges of assault, trespassing and harassment stemming from an incident at the Lake Tahoe AleWorx in Stateline, Nev.
According to the arrest report, Bass approached an employee at AleWorx who was standing outside on the patio entrance to the Stateline bar. The report states Bass was previously “trespassed,” or more commonly known as 86’d, from the business. The employee, whose name is redacted from the report, says Bass came up to him and started yelling at him. Bass was asked to leave by the employee, who then said the former mayor (and current mayor pro tem) threatened him and allegedly said “he was going to have people kill him.”
Bass then walked away, returning about 20 minutes later.
The employee said Bass approached, cocked his arm like he was going to hit him, so the employee, who said he feared for his safety, kicked Bass away.
Bass then told the AleWorx employee he was going to call DCSO and left.
DCSO arrived, but Bass wasn’t there at the time. The deputy interviewed the employee and reviewed surveillance film of the incident. The deputy then gave the employee paperwork for a “private party arrest” and a statement form. In the meantime, Bass returned.
Bass said earlier in the night he had just been walking by the bar and wanted to make amends with the employee due to past issues and was kicked in the legs. He also said he didn’t know he’d been “trespassed.” The report states the deputy asked him about his injuries due to the kick, and Bass couldn’t show an injury and couldn’t provide a clear answer of the incident to the deputy, and replied, “It wasn’t that big of a deal really.”
Bass was arrested by the deputy, who said it was clear in the video surveillance cameras that suspect Bass was the aggressor.
At the time of booking, bail was set at $1,978, bondable. Mr. Bass posted bond and was released from the Douglas County Jail on Sept. 26, 2025, at approximately 4:35 a.m. He was provided a court date to appear before the Tahoe Justice Court for arraignment on Dec. 22, 2025, at 1:30 p.m.
In a joint statement Monday afternoon, Oct. 6, 2025 by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, it reads “following further review, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office filed a Criminal Complaint with the Tahoe Justice Court on Oct. 2, 2025, formally charging Mr. Bass with the misdemeanor offenses of Trespassing and Harassment.”
Both of these matters are under investigation. We will update as information becomes available. This is a developing story.
