Brief by Central Staff
Modern Life – February 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
A former Wetmore family was featured in the Dec. 31, 2006, edition of the New York Times, although their old hometown was vaguely described as “a small town in Colorado,” and the mother, Debbie Schwarz, was identified only by her stage name of De’Bella.
The Times story was “The Graying of Naughty,” and it described a growing niche in the adult-film industry — racy movies featuring performers in their 40s and 50s, among them 50-year-old De’Bella.
She is married to Larry Schwarz, 66, and they used to live in Wetmore. From 1993 to 1997, Schwarz, a Republican, represented House District 44 (then comprising all or parts of Custer, Teller, and Pueblo counties) in the Colorado General Assembly. He resigned his House seat to accept an appointment to the State Parole Board, and was re-appointed by Gov. Bill Owens in 2000.
But his career in public office ended shortly after Dec. 4, 2001, when his Wetmore home was raided by the Custer County Sheriff’s Department, acting on a complaint that he had child pornography. Some cartoon books and explicit videos were removed, but no charges were filed.
However, Owens immediately fired Schwarz from the Parole Board because he had filed false information on his application for re-appointment. The application asks if there is anything in the applicant’s past which would be an embarassment if it became public, and Schwarz said there was not.
Schwarz and his wife moved to California in 2003 to work at Platinum X Pictures, along with their daughter Stephany, an adult-film star whose screen name is Jewel DeNyle. Stephany is Debbie’s daughter from another relationship, and was adopted by Larry Schwarz after he married Debbie.
De’Bella worked as an administrative assistant at Platinum X until recently, when “I decided I wanted to do something different. I’d been working behind the scenes, and my friends said ‘Why not do movies? Have some fun, and get paid for it?'”
Her husband of 28 years said “She’s doing it for the right reasons.”
Also, describing his work in managment at Platinum X, Larry Schwarz said “This is the most fun I’ve ever had.” And it does sound more exciting than sitting in the General Assembly.
