U.S. Attorney's Office

Amendment 64 approved: Mason Tvert celebrates, John Hickenlooper talks Cheetos

Moments ago, 9News projected that Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act had won approval from a majority of Colorado voters. Proponent Mason Tvert, speaking amid a boisterous celebration at the measure's victory party, puts the historic achievement in perspective.

Daniel Drinan, busted for pleasuring himself on plane, a disgraced ex-priest

Former Catholic priest Daniel Drinan made headlines after being charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver for masturbating in view of other passengers on a plane -- and they weren't his first. Even before this latest incident, Drinan, 63, had an entry on BishopAccountability.org, which descri ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary closure threat letters in Colorado echoed in Washington

For the last eight months or so, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado has been shutting down medical marijuana storefronts within 1,000 feet of schools by simply sending the dispensaries a letter and giving them 45 days to vacate or face possible seizure of their property and assets. The tactic m ... More >>

David Moe, preschool teacher who kept hugs journal: Limited indictments

Update: Earlier this month, we told you about the strange case of David Moe, a veteran teacher at Paddington School whose bust on child pornography charges was seemingly echoed by word that he kept an 800-page journal outlining his creepy fascination with very young children; see our original covera ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Ten dispensaries targeted in third wave of U.S. Attorney closure letters

The office of U.S. Attorney John Walsh has announced that it's sent closure-threat letters to ten dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools. This action represents the third wave of such missives: The first, in January, targeted 23 medical marijuana centers, while the second, in March, numbered 25. ... More >>

Dark Angel meth arrests: Armando Mendoza-Haro among 22 busted in cross-country scheme

In decrying the resources wasted in a failed prosecution of medical marijuana caregiver Josh Jones (a total he estimated at over $100,000), attorney Rob Corry suggested that law enforcers focus on meth rather than weed. Little did he know that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado and the Organized ... More >>

Hewlett fire photos: James Weber on hook for $300 fine, $2.9 million in restitution?

At this writing, the Hewlett fire near Fort Collins is almost 90 percent contained, with the soggy weather over the weekend helping to give firefighters the upper hand. The sooner they mop up the destructive blaze, the more quickly the meter stops running for James Weber, who'll be asked to help pa ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Most MMCs targeted by feds moved rather than closing

This week, the 25 medical marijuana dispensaries targeted in a second round of shut-down letters from the U.S. Attorney's office closed their doors, bringing the total number of shops that have done so to 47. But according to marijuana attorney Warren Edson, the majority of those MMCs have simply re ... More >>

Marijuana: 25 dispensaries' closure to protect "students," not just children

Monday was the deadline for 25 medical marijuana centers near schools targeted in a second wave of closure-threat letters from U.S. Attorney John Walsh to shut their doors -- and all of them did. A third wave is coming, promises Walsh's spokesman, who now stresses his boss's efforts to protect not ... More >>

Jon Christopher Baker's alleged child porn stash: 30,000 photos, 1,400 videos

A lot of us have hard drives crammed to bursting with photos and videos. But even by those standards, Jon Christopher Baker's array of images stands out. One computer apparently stored 30,000 photos and 1,400 videos. Oh yeah: The collection allegedly consisted of child pornography.

Medical marijuana caregiver Stylios Trachanas's bust as much about illegal weapons as weed

Reports about Stylios Trachanas's court appearance on Friday led with his role as a medical marijuana caregiver, as did a U.S. Attorney's Office release. But while his MMJ work will contribute to his sentence, he may not have been arrested at all if he hadn't used and possessed weapons forbidden to ... More >>

Marijuana: Rob Corry wants proof of support for U.S. Attorney MMC seizure threats

Earlier this month, attorney Rob Corry shared correspondence between him and U.S. Attorney John Walsh over seizure-threat letters sent to 23 dispensaries near schools. His latest gambit: A Freedom of Information Act request intended, in part, to determine if the actions are as popular as Walsh has i ... More >>

Marijuana: DA Stan Garnett defends telling feds to back off Boulder MMCs

Update:This week, Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney John Walsh asking him not to send seizure threats to any Boulder medical marijuana dispensaries conforming to state and local land use regulations. When asked about the note, Walsh's spokesman said his boss woul ... More >>

Medical marijuana update: U.S. Attorney John Walsh rejects safe harbor for MMCs

Additional update below: Yesterday, attorney Rob Corry shared correspondence with U.S. Attorney John Walsh about seizure-threat letters sent to 23 dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools; get details and see the documents below. Corry interprets Walsh's letter as establishing what he calls "safe h ... More >>

Medical marijuana seizure letters: 22 shops shut, five enforcement actions

Update below: The U.S. Attorney's Office under John Walsh has now confirmed that dispensaries near schools that received a seizure-threat letter have stopped doing business at previous locations. But this confirmation comes with new info. Although 23 letters were sent, one was subsequently withdrawn ... More >>

Dispensary owner whose shop closed at feds' order: "Screw this f*cking city"

Yesterday, U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Jeff Dorschner implied that the 23 dispensaries issued shut-down letters had stopped doing business at their previous locations, within 1,000 feet from schools. While some centers have relocated, others have shut their doors permanently.

Marijuana: U.S. Attorney "not bluffing" about seizing dispensaries near schools

Attorney Rob Corry unwittingly provided U.S. Attorney John Walsh with a make-my-day moment. Corry recently told 9News that seizure letters sent to 23 dispensaries near schools were a "colossal bluff." During a round of media interviews, Walsh begged to differ. "We are not bluffing," he says. "We sen ... More >>

Four Colorado men charged with smuggling 132 pounds of marijuana into Minnesota

Last week, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota released information alleging that Boyd Ethan Wilkinson of Brighton, Robert Lee Bowker of Lyons, Mathew Martin Hecker of Evergreen and Anthony W. Raymond of Longmont had worked out a deal with two Minnesota men to ship pounds of marijuana from Color ... More >>

Varoujan Khodjamirian, drunk passenger: Flying but no booze for "I kill you children" flier

"No kill, sir."​Long Island-resident Varoujan Khodjamirian's flight home from the Denver area was presumably uneventful -- maybe because a judge ordered him to forego alcohol on the way back. Why this edict? Because Khodjamirian's previous time in the air devolved into a drunken, death-threat- ... More >>

Marijuana raid: Feds seized 2,500 plants from Cherry Top Farms after following suspect's truck

​This morning, the manager of Cherry Top Farms dispensary, raided yesterday by the DEA and other agencies, shared his version of the story, including his claim that the center was in compliance with all state regs. There's nothing to contradict this claim in info supplied by the U.S. Attorney' ... More >>

Michael Hancock prostitution story: Do Denver cops have different rules for mayor-elect, press?

Michael Hancock.​Although the uproar over reports allegedly linking mayor-elect Michael Hancock to the Denver Players prostitution operation has died down, one journalist -- Complete Colorado's Todd Shepherd, who broke the story in the first place -- isn't giving up. But he's hit a roadblock w ... More >>

Medical marijuana letter from U.S. Attorney early attack on 2012 pot legalization campaign?

Brian Vicente.​Medical marijuana advocates have been debating the intent of U.S. Attorney John Walsh's letter attacking portions of HB 1043, a bill intended to tweak MMJ regs that became law last year. Among the theories: The letter is a warning shot in what will be a full-scale federal effort ... More >>

Reader: U.S. Attorney's letter shows medical marijuana raids can happen in Colorado

​Our interview with a representative of the U.S. Attorney's Office, who said the federal government makes no distinction between medical marijuana and pot grown for non-medical purposes, evoked some strong responses. Here's the thoughts of a reader who's been following news of dispensary raids ... More >>

Michelle Schramm: Evidence against alleged prostitution boss includes bulk condom orders

​The website for Green Garden Spa in Edgewater promises "Total Satisfaction" -- and the U.S. Attorney's Office believes that pledge extended to happy endings. Michelle Schramm, 55, surrendered to authorities following a grand jury indictment accusing her of using Green Garden and two other spa ... More >>

Jamie Paulin Ramirez: "Jihad Jamie" pleads guilty to one count of supporting terrorism

Paulin Ramirez.​Last April, Leadville's Jamie Paulin Ramirez was accused of providing material support to terrorists. Nearly a year later, she's followed in the footsteps of her co-defendant, Colleen LaRose, and pleaded guilty. Look below to read a U.S. Attorney's Office release, as well as t ... More >>

Operation Fortune Cookie: Did suspicions about Dante Carbone hurt the case against Dan Tang?

Dan Tang.​As we reported this week, a new court filing suggests Thornton cop Dante Carbone was the prime suspect in the internal leak that sabotaged Operation Fortune Cookie, the state's largest pot bust. That drug investigation ended meekly when federal prosecutors gave restaurateur Dan Tang ... More >>

Ronald Eugene Beach gets 20 years for abusing granddaughters, ages 3 and 5, at Fort Carson

​Ronald Eugene Beach, 63, has been sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for sexual abuse of minors, and the stipulated facts included in his plea agreement on view below certainly present a strong, and disturbing, case for the sentence's length. The targets? His own granddaughters, who ... More >>

Walter Bond: Radical animal-rights activist pleads guilty to burning down Sheepskin Factory

Walter Bond.​Animal activist Walter Bond is a man so devoted to his cause that he wears a giant "VEGAN" tattoo on his neck. So it's no surprise he showed zero remorse when officially pleading guilty to arson related to a fire at Glendale's Sheepskin Factory in April -- a crime for which he fa ... More >>

Ron Rocha, Regis coach, part of 20-kilos-a-week cocaine-ring bust: See mug shots & drug photos

Large photos below.​Last month, Ron Rocha, a volunteer baseball coach for Regis University, was on the losing end of an intra-squad matchup dubbed the Fall World Series. But he suffered an even greater defeat yesterday, when he was among 35 people named by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the bus ... More >>

Louis Hampers: Indicted Children's doctor back in court on Friday, back in Colorado soon

Louis Hampers.​ Dr. Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 fake prescriptions dating back to 2007 and continuing through April, will return to court Friday in Virginia, where he was arrested yesterday. According to Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Atto ... More >>

Louis Hampers: Feds indict controversial doctor for allegedly writing 100s of fake prescriptions

Louis Hampers.​ Louis Hampers, the Children's Hospital doctor who was the subject of the recent Westword feature "When This Physician Gets the Fever, it's the Women He Dates Who Can't Shake the Bug," was arrested this morning on charges of writing hundreds of phony prescriptions. An indictment ... More >>

Jane Norton's new ad gunning for Ken Buck

​Jane Norton has taken the kid gloves off, and delivers a major smack to Ken Buck, the Weld County District Attorney who's challenging her for the Republican Senate nomination, in a new radio commercial that's airing on KHOW this morning. There's even an ominous link to the Clinton administra ... More >>

John Suthers's connection to "American terrorist" Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki in an image broadcast on CBS.​Colorado Attorney General John Suthers's name was recently juxtaposed with that of an extremely unsavory fellow -- serial killer Scott Lee Kimball. A front-page Denver Post story over the weekend noted that Suthers, who was then a U.S. Attorney, "s ... More >>

Chris Bartkowicz indicted: Faces up to 40 year sentence for Highlands Ranch marijuana grow

Chris Bartkowicz is taking a big risk.​In February, HIghlands Ranch's Chris Bartkowicz showed off his home medical marijuana grow to Channel 9, after which he was promptly busted by the DEA -- an arrest that earned criticism from MMJ advocate Rob Corry and even Representative Jared Polis. Des ... More >>

Steven Clay Romero pleads guilty to dragging Buddy the dog to death

Steven Clay Romero: Should he be sentenced to serve time in a kennel?​Some of those designated Westword's Shmuck of the Week earn this honor for kinda silly reasons -- like, for instance, the condom website that implied Coloradans have small dicks. Not so Steven Clay Romero, named after he wa ... More >>

Dan Tang sentencing in Operation Fortune Cookie makes "absolutely no sense," says Tom Gorman, drug task force head

​The drama continues around Operation Fortune Cookie, the largest weed bust in state history, which imploded amid accusations of snitching cops, paid-off politicians and bureaucratic retribution. Last week, the drug investigation's main suspect, politically connected restaurateur Dan Tang, re ... More >>

Jason Kay's Tiger Woods/"Unfaithful" art project judged unfunny, prompts likely guilty plea

The feds don't seem to have found this to be funny...​Looks like Longmont's Jason Kay will get a chance to suffer for his art. Last month, Kay came up with the idea of relabeling Gatorade bottles with photos of golfer Tiger Woods and his wife alongside the word "Unfaithful" and then placing t ... More >>

Najibullah Zazi's father to face NYC court after Denver drops suspected terror case

NYC terror plot suspect Najibullah Zazi​Update, 1:08 p.m.: Mohammed Zazi has now been officially accused in Brooklyn of conspiring to obstruct justice in Colorado and New York, prompting a scheduled appearance in U.S. District Court at 2 p.m. today. Click here for the details and read a U.S. A ... More >>

D.B. Cooper, Osama Jr. or just plain loonbag?: Another weird passenger incident causes flight diversion to Colorado

"Geronimo!"​It seems like only a couple of weeks ago that a passenger caused a flight to make an unscheduled landing in Colorado due to inexplicable behavior (including his insistence on shaving topless). That's because it was only a couple of weeks ago. Now, a similar act: A thus-far unnamed ... More >>

Con man Thomas Quintin allegedly got out of jail free, collected $1.2 million in tax-fraud scheme

Doesn't money smell better when you stole it from the federal government?​Thomas Quintin, 63, a Denver man with a long history of felony tax fraud, is facing new scrutiny after he walked away from his sentence at a half-way house and allegedly started a scheme investigators traced to caches to ... More >>

Case dismissed against Channel 4 cameraman arrested during Najibbullah Zazi media circus while doing a Sudoku puzzle

Glenn McReynolds has been cleared of wrongdoing -- which makes sense, since he didn't do anything wrong.​In September, amid the frenzy stirred by the case of Najibbullah Zazi, a DIA shuttle driver at the center of a federal terrorism probe, Channel 4 cameraman Glenn McReynolds was handcuffed a ... More >>

Ex-Mormon bishop Shawn Merriman pleads guilty to mail fraud -- and prepares to say goodbye to his art and classic-car collection

Back in August, former Mormon bishop Shawn Merriman pleaded not guilty to mail fraud charges against him -- something that we predicted was "a temporary situation" in a blog about alleged swindles dating back to 1994. Bingo. Yesterday, Merriman pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one cou ... More >>

How good fortune graced the namesake of the "Dan Tang Drug Trafficking Organization"

Accused hepatitis-c passer Kristen Parker: A photo gallery

A Kristen Parker photo sure to strike a chord with Rose Medical Center patients. Outrage continues to build over Kristen Parker, a surgical tech who was formally charged in federal court yesterday with multiple counts related to the exposure of patients at Rose Medical Center to hepatitis-C. The ma ... More >>

A multimillion-dollar weed ring goes down -- and threatens to take a prominent restaurant owner with it

The bust was almost blown after an internal leak, and Dan Tang -- his Heaven Dragon Chinese food beloved local politicians -- was implicated.

Colorado Crimes: Welcome back, Ronald F. Thrasher

Betcha there's one of these babies in Mr. Thrasher's future. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ronald F. Thrasher, formerly of Colorado Springs, has been on the run for the past fourteen years. That's not entirely true: He's probably rested a time or two since 1995, when he fled custody befo ... More >>

Riding Shotgun

The ATF is gunning for Rocky's Autos co-owner John Rothrock.

Mint Condition

The Denver Mint is off limits to local authorities even when an employee's safety is threatened.

Call Her Madam

Kwang Suk Campbell Walker wasn't just looking for a handout.